REESE  LIBRARY 


t  ! 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 
Iccessions  No.o?J~9 '0.  ■     Oats  No. 


»VA  u  l 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/annalsofpublicedOOpratrich 


ANNALS 


PUBLIC    EDUCATION 


STATE    OF   NEW   YORK, 


From  1626  to  1746. 


By  DANIEL  J.  PKATT,  A.  M., 

ASSISTANT    SECRETARY    OF    THE    REGENTS    OW    THE    TJNT7BBSITT. 


"SUNT  HIC  BTIAM    SUA  PILEMIA  LAUDI.' 


ALBANY: 
THB  ARGUS  COMPANY,  PKINTER& 

1872. 


I-A337 
P8 


(ofi-yo 


Entered,  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-one  [January  10], 

By  DANIEL  J.  PRATT, 
In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  "Washington. 


STATE  OF  NEW  YORK : 

In  Senate  Chamber,  \ 

Albany,  Mwch  29,  1871.  ) 

Resolved,  That  three  hundred  copies  of  the  Annals  of  Public  Education  in  the 
State  of  New  York,  for  the  period  from  1626  to  1746,  be  printed  for  the  use  of  the 
Regents  of  the  University,  and  two  hundred  copies  for  the  use  of  the  Senate. 

By  order, 

HIRAM  OALKINS, 

Clerk. 


^  OF  THE         ^P\ 

UNIVEBSITYli 


Calw 


PREFACE 


This  volume  is  a  collection  of  the  official  acts  and  historical  records 
relating  to  public  education  within  this  State  during  the  Dutch  and 
a  part  of  the  English  colonial  periods,  from  1626  to  1746,  with  such 
editorial  statements  as  have  been  deemed  appropriate,  and,  to  some 
extent,  necessary,  to  connect  and  explain  the  often  fragmentary 
original  records.  If  hereafter  practicable,  this  work  will  be  con- 
tinued to  about  the  year  1800. 

Much  of  the  material  of  these  Annals  has  been  preserved  only  in 
manuscript  in  the  State  archives ;  other  printed  fragments  are  widely 
scattered,  and  are  not  readily  accessible  in  the  absence  of  any  cata- 
logue or  digest  of  authorities  referring  to  this  subject. 

The  results  of  the  few  attempts  hitherto  made  in  any  portion  of 
this  field  have  been  carefully  sought  and  freely  used,  with  due 
acknowledgment.  Dunshee's  "  History  of  the  School  of  the  Reformed. 
Dutch  Church  in  New  York  "  lias  been  of  greater  service  than  any 
other  single  printed  collection.  That  school  having  been  the  first, 
and  for  some  time  the  only  public  one  within  the  colony,  its  history 
is  almost  co-extensive  with  that  of  public  education  for  a  number 
of  years.  The  pre-eminence  of  this  little  work  in  its  special  field  is 
attested  by  the*fact  that  it  is  almost  the  sole  authority  quoted,  for 
the  colonial  period,  in  Boese's  "  History  of  Education  in  the  City  of 
New  York."  Valentine's  Manual  of  the  Corporation  of  New  York, 
for  1863,  contains  a  sketch  of  "  Schools  and  Schoolmasters  in  the 
time  of  the  Dutch,"  which  includes  some  items  not  mentioned  by 
other  authors.  Occasional  allusions  to  the  subject  of  education  occur 
in  O'Callaghan's  History  of  New  Netherland,  Brodhead's  History  of 
•New  York,  and  other  works  of  like  general  character.  A  "  Special 
report  on  the  present  state  of  education  in  the  United  States  and 
other  countries,"  by  the  late  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  of 
this  State,  published  in  1867,  devotes  two  pages  to  a  cursory  sketch 
of  its  educational  history  during  the  colonial  era. 

The  principal  official  source  of  information  for  the  earlier  por- 
tion  of  the   period  included   in    the  volume,   is  the    "New   York 


iv  Preface. 

Historical  Manuscripts,"  Dutch  and  English,  in  the  office  of  the 
Secretary  of  State,  of  which  there  are  about  100  folio  volumes. 
The  Dutch  manuscripts  were  translated  some  fifty  years  since, 
under  State  authority,  by  Francis  Adrian  Yan  der  Kemp,  and  are 
now  being  re-translated  by  the  eminent  archivist,  Dr.  E.  B.  O'Calla- 
ghan,  under  the  title  of  "  Records  of  New  Netherland."  Of  Van 
der  Kemp's  translation  there  are  twenty-four  volumes,  which 
are  known  among  antiquarians  as  the  "Albany  Records."  We 
regret  that  most  of  the  passages  which  we  have  had  occasion  to 
quote,  not  having  been  reached  by  the  new  translator,  must  exhibit 
the  marked  imperfections  of  style  which  characterize  the  Albany 
Records.  Dr.  O'Callaghan  has  also  prepared  a  full  calendar  and 
index  of  the  original  manuscripts,  a  small  edition  of  which  lias  been 
published.  By  the  aid  of  this  invaluable  work,  any  special  subject  of 
colonial  history  contained  therein  may  be  readily  investigated.  The 
Documentary  and  the  Colonial  Histories  of  the  State — the  former  in 
four  and  the  latter  in  eleven  quarto  volumes,  large  editions  of  which 
have  been  published — contain  copies  of  some  of  these  manuscripts, 
including  a  few  referring  to  educational  affairs,  especially  among  the 
Indians.  The  corporation  archives  of  New  York  city  include  a  col- 
lection known  as  the  "New  Amsterdam  Records,"  an  unpublished 
translation  of  which,  in  seven  volumes,  was  made  some  years  since  by 
Dr.  O'Callaghan.  These  records  contain  a  few  items  in  regard  to  the 
schools  of  that  city  during  the  period  of  the  Dutch  administration. 
The  manuscript  "  Correspondence  of  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam,"  pro- 
cured in  Holland,  some  years  since,  by  Mr.  Brodhead,  to  which  occa- 
sional reference  is  made  by  historians,  throws  additional  light  upon 
this  special  subject. 

Among  other  sources  of  information,  for  the  period  included  in  the 
present  volume  (1626-1Y40),  may  be  mentioned  the  printed  journals 
of  the  Legislative  Council  and  Assembly,  from  1691  onward ;  the 
colonial  laws,  most  of  which  are  found  in  the  extant  compilations, 
though  a  number  of  obsolete  ones  of  special  historical  interest  have 
been  preserved  only  in  their  original  manuscript  form,  in  the  office  of 
the  Secretary  of  State ;  O'Callaghan's  "  Register  of  New  Nether- 
land  "  and  "  Laws  of  New  Netherland ;"  Yalentine's  Corporation 
Manual  of  N.  Y.  City  for  a  series  of  years  ;  the  annual  reports  of  the 
"  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts ;"  mis- 
cellaneous works  of  research,  including  local  histories,  prominent 
among  which  are  Munsell's  "  Annals  of  Albany  ;"  facts  communicated 
in  writing  by  several  well-informed  investigators,  who  have  kindly 


Preface.  v 

aided  us  in  our  researches ;  and  lastly,  old  newspapers,  especially  the 
files  of  the  New  York  Gazette,  etc.,  as  preserved  in  the  Library  of  the 
New  York  Historical  Society.  Specific  references  to  these  sources  of 
information  will  be  made  in  connection  with  each  quotation,  it  being 
an  important  part  of  the  present  design  to  verify  every  statement,  and 
thus  facilitate  further  investigation,  in  the  hope  that  the  materials  for  a 
tolerably  full  history  of  education  in  the  State  may  finally  be  secured. 
If  this  work,  with  its  proposed  continuation,  shall  contribute  to  a  bet- 
ter understanding  of  the  origin  and  growth  of  the  present  system  of 
education  in  the  Empire  State,  the  chief  design  of  the  undertaking 
will  be  accomplished. 

It  is  proper  to  add,  that  the  greater  part  of  the  material  embraced 
in  this  volume  was  first  published  in  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  Univer- 
sity Convocation  of  the  State  of  New  York",  for  the  years  1868 
and  1869. 

The  plates  from  which  these  "  Annals  "  were  first  printed,  were 
destroyed  by  the  great  fire  which  occurred  at  Weed,  Parsons  &  Co.'s 
printing  establishment,  in  April,  1871.  It  thus  became  necessary, 
in  carrying  out  the  foregoing  order  of  the  Senate,  to  reset  the  entire 
work.  A  few  errors  and  considerable  new  material  having,  mean- 
while, come  under  the  author's  notice,  he  has  availed  himself  of  this 
opportunity,  at  the  cost  of  no  little  time  and  labor,  to  supply  a 
revised  and  enlarged  edition  of  the  original  work  ordered  by  the 
Senate. 

The  author  cannot  forbear  here  to  express,  in  a  general  way,  his 
indebtedness  to  the  several  gentlemen  mentioned  by  name  in  the 
body  of  the  volume,  who  have  aided  in  the  collection  of  these 
historical  facts ;  as  well  as  to  all  those  who  have,  in  any  way,  encour- 
aged him  in  this  undertaking.  Further  information  relative  to  either 
the  general  or  local  history  of  education  in  this  State,  prior  to  1800, 
for  any  future  editions  of  this  Work,  and  for  its  intended  continuation 
from  1746,  will  be  thankfully  received  and  duly  acknowledged. 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 
Preface * 

CHAPTER  I. 
First  Period.— Public  Education  in  the  Dutch  (or  Holland)  Colony  op 
New  Netherland,  1626-1664 1 

CHAPTER  II. 
Second  Period.— Public  Education  in  the  Colony  op  New  York,  1664-1784. 

PART  I. 

From  the  Capitulation  by  the  Dutch  to  the  first  legislative  act  for  founding  a 

College,  1664-1746 57 

Catalogue  of  Schoolmasters  mentioned  in  this  volume 149 

part  n. 
The  founding  of  King's  (afterwards  Columbia)  College  [to  be  published  hereafter]. 

part  in,  etc. 
[To  be  published  hereafter] 

CHAPTER  III. 
The  Founding  of  the  University  op  the  State  op  New  York,  under  the 
Acts  op  1784  and  1787,  and  the  further  History  op  Education  in  the 
State  to  the  Year  1800  [to  be  published  hereafter]. 


A.  K  2Sf  A.  L  S 


PUBLIC   EDUCATION 


STATE    OF    NEW    YORK, 


INCLUDING!-      THE       C  O  L.  O  N  I  vV  L      ERA.. 


CHAPTER    I. 

FIRST  PERIOD. 

PUBLIC   EDUCATION  IN   THE   DUTCH  (OR  HOLLAND)  COLONY  OF 
NEW  NETHERLAND,  1626-1664. 

The  following  extracts,  from  comparatively  recent  writers,  illus- 
trate the  customs  and  policy  of  the  Hollanders  in  regard  to  education 
prior  to  and  in  connection  with  the  settlement  of  New  Netherland: 

The  Dutch  were  eminently  a  \  .  .  charitable,  well  educated 
and  moral  people.  .  .  .  Neither  the  perils  of  war,  nor  the  busy 
pursuit  of  gain,  nor  the  excitement  of  political  strife,  ever  caused  them 
to  neglect  the  duty  of  educating  their  offspring  to  enjoy  that  freedom 
for  which  their  fathers  had  fought.  Schools  were  everywhere  pro- 
vided, at  the  public  expense,  with  good  schoolmasters,  to  instruct 
the  children  of  all  classes  in  the  usual  branches  of  education  ;  and  the 
consistories  of  the  churches  took  zealous  care  to  have  their  youth 
thoroughly  taught  the  catechism  and  the  articles  of  religion.1 

It  was  the  custom,  after  the  Reformation  in  Holland,  to  send  out 
witli  emigrants  going  to  any  of  its  colonies,  however  few  in  number, 
a  well-qualified  schoolmaster,  who  was  a  member  of  the  church,  and 
accredited,  by  his  competence  and  piety,  to  take  charge  of  the 
instruction  of  children  and  youth.  During  the  absence  or  want  of  a 
minister,  he  was  bound  to  conduct  public  worship,  by  reading  a  ser- 
mon, offering  prayers,  etc.,  on  the  Sabbath,  and  on  other  occasions. 
With  the  earliest  agricultural  settlement  of  Manhattan  island  and  its 
vicinity,  such  a  schoolmaster  and  voorleser  [clerk  or  reader]  was  sent 

1  Brodhead's  History  of  New  York,  pp.  461-463. 


v/ 


J 


2  Annals  of  Public  Education 

out,  and  from   the  earliest  period  the  school  has  continued  to  this 
day.1 

Schools  have  always  been  in  existence  in  New  York  since  its  set- 
tlement by  the  Dutch.  The  founders  of  the  colony  brought  with 
them  from  Holland  the  institutions  of  their  native  land  ;  its  industry, 
its  catholicity  of  spirit,  its  care  for  the  religious  and  educational  "Wel- 
fare of  the  peopled 

"  No  other  religion  was  to  be  publicly  tolerated  or  allowed  in  New 
Netherland,  save  that  then  taught  and  exercised  by  authority  in  the 
Reformed  Church  of  the  United  Provinces,"  for  the  inculcation  of 
which  the  [West  India]  Company  promised  to  support  and  maintain 
good  and  fit  preachers,  schoolmasters  and  comforters  of  the  sick.3 

No  principle  was  more  deeply  engraved  on  the  heart  of  the  Hol- 
lander than  that  "  the  church  and  the  school  must  be  maintained."4 

The  establishment  of  schools  and  the  appointment  of  schoolmasters, 
rested  conjointly  with  the  [West  India]  Company  and  the  Classis  of- 
Amsterdam ;  and  it  is  from  this  circumstance  that  much  relating  to 
the  early  history  of  the  school  under  consideration  has  been  pre- 
served.5 

When  a  school  is  spoken  of  under  the  Dutch  administration,  spe- 
cial reference  is  invariably  made  to  the  official  public  school,  sup- 
ported by  the  authorities,  and  in  connection  with  the  established 
[Reformed  Dutch]  Church,  the  schoolmasters  whereof  were  appointed 
by  the  West  India  Compairy.  From  the  first  organization  of  the 
school,  till  the  year  1808,  when  a  special  board  of  trustees  was 
appointed,  the  supervision  and  management  of  the  school  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  deacons.  .  .  .  No  private  school  teachers  .  .  . 
could  follow  their  calling  without  a  license  from  the  civil  and  ecclesi- 
astical authorities.6 

1626.  When  a  colonial  government  was  organized,  1626,  by 
Kieft,7  the  first  Director  General,  we  find  the  place  of  a  clergyman 
supplied,  to  a  certain  extent,  by  Sebastian  Jans  Crol  and  Jan  Huyek, 
two  "  Krank-besoeckers,"  "  Ziekentroosters,"  or  "  Comforters  of  the 
Sick."  .  .  .  Exigency  of  circumstances,  in  a  new  settlement, 
sometimes  demanded  that  the  exercise  of  the  functions  pertaining  to 
the  offices  of  the  minister,  the  schoolmaster,  and  the  Krank-besoecker, 
devolved  upon  the  same  individual ;  so  that  we  might  with  propriety 
be  justified  in  claiming  the  introduction  of  public  education  as  early 
as  1626 ;  but  as  the  term  schoolmaster  is  not  expressly  applied  to 
either  of  the  Krank-besoeckers,  we  will  waive  the  position.8 

The  earliest  official  act  relating  to  public  education  in  New  Neth- 
erland is  contained  in  the  so-called 

1  Rev.  Thomas  De  Witt,  D.  D.,  in  his  introduction  to  Dunshee's  History  of  the 
School  of  the  Reformed  Protestant  Dutch  Church  in  the  City  of  New  York,  pp.  7,  8. 
*  Supt.  Rice's  Special  Report  on  the  condition  of  Education,  p.  77. 

3  O'Callaglmn's  History  of  New  Netherland,  i,  220. 

4  Strong's  History  of  Flatbush,  p.  108. 

6  Dunshee,  p.  25.  7  This  should  have  been  Minuil. 

6  Dunshee,  p.  33.  8  Dunshee,  pp.  27,  28. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  3 

Freedoms  and  Exemptions, 

Granted  by  the  West  India  Company  to  all  Patroons,  Masters  or 
Private  Persons  who  will  plant  colonies  in  New  Netherland, 
7  June,  1629. 

XXVII.  The  Patroons  and  colonists  shall  in  particular,  and  in  the 
speediest  manner,  endeavor  to  find  out  ways  and  means  whereby 
they  may  supply  a  minister  and  schoolmaster,  that  thus  the  service 
of  God  and  zeal  for  religion  may  not  grow  cool  and  be  neglected 
among  them,  and  they  shall,  for  the  first,  procure  a  comforter  of  the 
sick  there.1 

This  decree  was  reenacted  in  1630,  in  the 

New  Project  of  Freedoms  and  Exemptions. 

28.  The  Patroons  shall  also  particularly  exert  themselves  to  find 
speedy  means  to  maintain  a  clergyman  and  schoolmaster,  in  order 
that  Divine  service  and  zeal  for  religion  may  be  planted  in  that  coun- 
try ;  and  send,  at  first,  a  comforter  for  the  sick  thither.2 

The  city  of  Amsterdam,  some  years  later,  undertook  to  provide 
schoolhouses  for  new  settlements,  and  provisionally  to  support  school- 
masters, as  appears  from  the  following : 

Draft  of  Conditions  offered  by  the  city  of  Amsterdam  to  Emigrants 
to  New  Netherland.     No  date :  probably  1656. 

Remarks  of  Directors  of  West  India 
4  Company. 

To  the  end  that  the  said  colonists  may     Fiat.     [Let  it  be  done.] 
gain   their  livelihood  there  safely,  hon- 
estly and  prosperously,  the  city  aforesaid 
doth  beforehand  guarantee  as  follows : 

#.'"•'■'  *#''*''  «f  ' 

7 

Said  city  shall  cause  to  be  erected  Fiat. 
about  the  market,  or  in  a  more  conve- 
nient place,  a  public  building  suitable  for 
Divine  service :  item,  also  a  house  for  a 
school,  which  can  likewise  be  occupied 
by  the  person  who  will  hereafter  be  sex- 
ton, psalm-setter  and  schoolmaster  ;  the 
city  shall,  besides,  have  a  house  built  for 
the  Minister. 

8 
The  city  aforesaid  shall  provisionally    Fiat. 
provide  and  pay  the  salary  of  a  Minister 
and    schoolmaster,    unless    their    High 

1 N.  Y.  Col.  Doc.,  ii,  557.    ■O'Callaghan's  Laws  of  New  Netherland,  p.  9. 
aN.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  i,  99. 


4  Annals  of  Public  Education 

Mightinesses  or  the  Company  think  oth- 


rwise.1 


Among  the  officials  of  that  early  period,  we  are  especially  inte- 
J  rested  in  the  schoolmasters,  memorials  of  some  of  whom  have  been 
preserved. 

From  all  that  has  been  discovered,  the  first  schoolmaster  in  New 
^  Amsterdam  was  Adam  Roelansten.2  .  .  .  He  was  a  resident  of 
this  city  as  early  at  least  as  the  year  1633,  as  appears  from  an  affida- 
vit made  by  him  in  1638,  setting  forth  certain  misconduct  which  he 
observed  in  one  Greetje  Reiners,  in  the  year  1633,  at  a  place  called 
the  Old  Magazine.8  *  *  *  * 

Mr.  Yalentine  says,  he  "  probably  had  pursued  this  calling  during 
all  the  time  of  his  residence,"  i.  e.,  from  1633  to  1638,  at  which  latter 
date  he  removed  to  Renselaerswyck.  Mr.  Dunshee  speaks  with  more 
confidence  upon  this  point,  but  fails  to  cite  any  additional  authority ; 
nor  are  we  able  to  find  Roelantsen's  name  in  the  list  of  officials  to 
which  he  refers  in  the  following  paragraph  : 

1633.  In  the  enumeration  of  the  [West  India]  Company's  officials 
...  .  Everardus  Bogardus  is  mentioned  as  officiating  as  minister 
at  Fort  Amsterdam,  and  Adam  Roelansden  as  the  first  schoolmaster. 

Here,  then,  in  accordance  with  the  custom  of  the  age,  the  usage  of 
the  home  government,  and  by  charter  stipulations,  we  have  the  intro- 
duction of  the  first  schoolmaster  in  Manhattan  ;  .  .  .  and  although 
it  is  probable  that  at  times  the  school  was  kept  somewhat  irregularly, 
owing  to  the  unsettled  state  of  affairs  arising  from  Indian  depreda- 
tions, and  the  hostile  attitude  and  aggressions  of  the  colonists  in  New 
England,  yet  the  records  furnish  direct  and  indisputable  evidence  of 
the  efforts  made  for  its  continuance  and  support.4 

Further  particulars  in  regard  to  the  life  and  character  of  Roelant- 
sen,  some  of  which,  we  regret  to  say,  are  quite  discreditable  to  "  the 
first  schoolmaster,"  are  reserved  for  separate  biographical  notices  of 
schoolmasters,  which  it  is  proposed  to  introduce  hereafter.  It  may, 
however,  be  due  to  Roelantsen  to  add,  that  even  Domine  Bogardus 
was  accused  of  immorality  and  excess,  and  that  the  standard  of  public 
virtue  was  not  remarkably  high  at  that  time.     Dr.  O'Callaghan  says : 

The  state  of  morals  in  New  Amsterdam  was,  at  this  period  [1638], 
by  no  means  healthy,  owing  as  well  to  the  description  of  persons 
which  trade  brought  thither,  as  to  the  absence,  in  a  great  part,  of  an 
agricultural  population.5 

1 N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  i,  619,  620.    See,  also,  pp.  631,  636, 637,  and  O'Callaghan's  Laws 
of  New  Netherland,  pp.  239,  240. 
2  More  properly  spelled  Roelantsen. 

8  Valentine's  Corporation  Manual,  1863,  p.  559.    Albany  Records  (MS.),  i,  52. 
4  Dunshee,  pp.  28,  29.    Alb.  Rec.,  i,  52. 
'O'Call.  N.  N.,i,  185. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  5 

Though  "  the  mass  of  the  people  resident  at  the  Manhattans  were 
unable  or  ill  qualified  either  to  read  or  write,"1  the  value  of  education 
seems  to  have  been  highly  appreciated ;  for  we  find  that  as  early  as 
1642,  it  was  customary,  in  marriage  contracts,  whenever  the  bride 
was  a  widow  having  children,  for  the  parties  to  "  promise  to  bring  up 
the  children  decently,  according  to  their  ability,  to  provide  them  with 
necessary  clothing  and  food,  to  keep  them  at  school,  to  let  them  learn 
reading,  writing  and  a  good  trade ;"  to  which  was  sometimes  added, 
"  as  honest  parents  ought  and  are  bound  to  do,  and  as  they  can 
answer  before  God  and  men."2 

The  first  direct  mention  of  a  public  tax  for  the  support  of  schools 
occurs  in  the 

Proposed  Articles  for  the  Colonization  and  Trade  of  New  Nether- 
land.     1638. 

8.  Each  householder  and  inhabitant  shall  bear  such  tax  and  public 
charge  as  shall  hereafter  be  considered  proper  for  the  maintenance  of 
clergymen,  comforters  for  the  sick,  schoolmasters,  and  such  like  neces- 
sary officers ;  and  the  Director  and  Council  there  shall  be  written  to 
touching  the  form  hereof,  in  order,  on  receiving  further  information 
hereupon,  it  be  rendered  the  least  onerous  and  vexatious.8 

That  a  school  was  in  contemplation  in  Beaverwyck  (Albany),  as  early 
as  1643,  appears  by  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  Arendt 
Yan  Curler  to  the  Patroon  of  Eenselaerswyck,  dated  June  16,  1643 : 

As  for  the  church,  it  is  not  yet  contracted  for,  nor  even  begun. 

.  .  .  That  which  I  intend  to  build  this  summer  in  the  pine 
grove  will  be  34  feet  long  by  19  feet  wide.  It  will  be  large  enough 
for  the  first  three  or  four  years  to  preach  in,  and  can  afterwards 
always  serve  for  the  residence  of  the  sexton,  or  for  a  school.4 

The  salaries  proposed  to  be  paid  in  those  early  times  are  exhibited 
in  the  following 

Report  of  the  Board  of  Accounts  in  New  Netherland.     1644.5 

Estimate  of  the  Expenses  which  the  [West  India]  Company  would 
have  to  bear  in  New  Netherland  for  the  following  persons,  to  be 
rationed  at  their  own  expense  : 

1  director,  whose  monthly  salary  should  be  fl.  250, 

to  board  himself,  is  yearly fl.  3 > 000 

*  -x-  -x-  •&  -x- 

1  clergyman,  a  fl.  120  per  month 1  >440 

1  schoolmaster,  precentor  and  sexton,  a  fl.  30 360 

1  O'Call.  N.  N.,  i,  187. 

*N.  Y.  Y.  Hist.  MSB.,  ii,  35,  51;  Hi,  70;  iv,  20.    O'Callaghan's  MS.  Records  of 
N.  N.,  ii,  37,  48, 102, 127.  8  K  Y.  Col.  Doc,  i,  112. 

*  O'Call.  N.  N.,  i,  459.    [From  the  Kenselaerswyck  MSS.] 
6K  Y.  Col.  Doc,  i,  155. 


6         •  Annals  of  Public  Education 

A  similar  estimate,  in  1661,  is  more  liberal  to  the  schoolmaster,  as 
compared  with  the  director,  though  both  are  reduced  to  the  smallest 
possible  amount : 

One  director,  on  a  salary  of  100  guilders  per  month,  and  board- 
wages  a  year,  300  guilders.  (  -^         0 
*                 •*                *                *                *.                %>■ 

One  comforter  of  the  sick,  to  act  also  as  schoolmaster,  18  guilders 
per  month,  and  board-wages  a  year,  80  guilders.1  [A  florin  and 
guilder  were  each  equivalent  to  about  40  cents,  U.  S.  currency.] 

The  first  effort  to  build  a  schoolhouse  occurred,  according  to  Mr. 
Dunshee,  as  early  as  1642,  although  the  documentary  evidence  quoted 
by  him  does  not  clearly  establish  the  date.     He  says  : 

In  1642,  the  church  on  Broad  street  having  become  somewhat 
dilapidated  and  reproachful  in  appearance,  an  effort  was  made  to  pro- 
cure a  new  one,  and  at  the  same  time  was  commenced  the  laudable 
undertaking  of  building  a  schoolhouse  with  suitable  accommodations 
(p.  30). 

Mr.  Dunshee  proceeds  to  quote  from  the  Eemonstrance  of  New 
Netherland,  made  in  1649,  which  states  that  "  the  bowl  has  been 
going  around  a  long  time  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  money  for 
erecting  a  schoolhouse ;"  but  this  does  not  intimate  that  the  "  long 
time  "  began  in  1642.  He  also  refers  to  Dr.  O'Callaghan's  account 
'of  the  building  of  the  church  in  1642  (Hist,  of  N.  N.,  i,  260),  which, 
however,  contains  no  allusion  to  a  schoolhouse  at  that  time.  The 
following  statement  of  the  condition  of  education  in  1 646,  contains 
the  only  allusion  made  by  the  learned  Doctor,  to  a  schoolhouse  of 
earlier  date,  his  sole  authority  being,  as  he  informs  us,  the  "  Eemon- 
strance of  New  Netherland,"  to  which  reference  will  hereafter  be 
made  : 

Though  a  college  had  been  founded  in  Massachusetts  some  nine 
years  before,  the  authorities  of  New  Netherland  made  little  or  no 
effort,  up  to  this  time,  to  establish  a  common  or  primary  school  in 
any  part  of  this  country.  Some  subscriptions  had  been  entered  into 
by  the  commonalty,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  schoolhouse  in  New 
Amsterdam,  but  these  funds  were" also  misappropriated,  and  this  lauda- 
ble undertaking  failed  in  consequence.2 

This  unfortunate  condition  of  education,  in  common  with  other 
public  interests,  seems  to  have  resulted  partly  from  the  feebleness  and 
poverty  of  the  colony,  and  partly  from  the  dissentions  which  pre- 
vailed during  Director  Kieft's  administration. 

"  "Where  the  shepherd  errs  the  sheep  go  astray."     Drunkenness 

1  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  ii,  169.  '  O'Call.  N.  N.,  i,  396. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  7 

and  broils  were  of  frequent  occurrence.  The  people  were  "  without 
discipline,  and  approaching  to  a  savage  state."  "  A  fourth  part  of 
the  city  of  New  Amsterdam  consisted  of  grogshops  and  houses,  where 
nothing  is  to  be  got  but  tobacco  and  beer."  Religion  and  education 
felt  the  baneful  effects  of  these  evil  influences.  .  .  .  Such  was 
the  state  of  disorganization  into  which  the  public  affairs  had  fallen.1 

In  1647,  Director  Kieft  was  superseded  by  Petrus  Stuyvesant, 
whose  commission  was  dated  at  the  Hague,  July  28,  1646,  and  who 
entered  upon  his  duties  May  27,  1647.  The  new  Director  General 
undertook  to  reform  the  prevalent  abuses,  and  for  this  purpose  drew 
up  certain  "  propositions  to  the  members  in  council  assembled,"  dated 
November  11,  1647.  The  fifth  of  these  propositions,  and  the  action 
of  the  Council  thereon,  are  recorded  in  parallel  columns,  according  to 
the  usage  of  the  times,  as  follows : 

5thly.  Whereas,  by  want  of  pro-  By  the  Council  is  decreed  the 

per  place,  no  school  has  been  kept  same  as  on  the  4th  article  above, 

in   three  months,   by  which  the  [  Viz. :  Decreed  by  the  Council, 

youth  is   spoiled,  so  is  proposed,  as  this  point  particularly  interests 

where  a  convenient  place  may  be  the  commonalty,  to  propose  it  to 

adapted  to  keep  the  youth  from  the   nine   Tribunes,  so  that  the 

the  street  and  under  a  strict  sub-  best  means  may  be  employed,  at 

ordination.2  the  smallest  expenses  of  the  com- 
monalty.] 

The  statement  that  for  "  want  of  a  proper  place,  no  school  had 
been  held  in  three  months,"  must  have  reference  to  the  public  school 
in  connection  with  the  church ;  for  one  Jan  Stevensen  was  actually 
teaching  at  the  time,  and  had  been  so  doing  for  five  years.8 

It  thus  appears  that  private  schools  had  already  been  established  in 
New  Amsterdam,  although  as  before  stated,  no  person  could  teach 
without  a  license  from  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities. 

The  "  Nine  Tribunes,"  commonly  called  the  "  Nine  Men,"  were 
chosen  by  the  Director  General  and  Council  from  double  that  num- 
ber of  persons  selected  by  the  people,  to  give  their  advice  when 
called  on,  and  to  assist  in  promoting  the  welfare  of  the  commonalty, 
as  well  as  that  of  the  country.4  In  accordance  with  the  above  recom- 
mendation of  the  Council,  the  Director  communicated  his  views  to 
the  Nine  Men  in  the  following  terms : 

To  the   nine   elected  Tribunes,   representing    the   Commonalty  of 
Manhattans,  Breukelen,  Amerfoort  and  Pavonia : 

Dear  Friends :  A  sudden  and  unhappy  accident,  and  its  following 
pains  prevent  my  assisting  at  your  meeting  and  making  proposals  in 

1 O'Call.  N.  N. ,  i.  395,  396.  8  Dunshee,  p.  33. 

. 2  Alb.  Rec,  vii,  106.  4  O'Call.  N .  N. ,  ii,  36,  37. 


8  Annals  of  Public  Education 

person  as  I  intended,  and  concluding  what  means  are  the  most  advi- 
sable to  adopt  for  the  common  weal  and  can  be  employed  with  the 
least  grievance  to  our  dear  subjects. 

****** 
3dly.  Not  less  necessary  than  the  former  article  is  the  building  of 
a  new  school  and  dwelling  house  for  the  schoolmaster,  for  the  benefit 
of  the  commonalty  and  the  education  of  the  youth.  We  are  inclined 
to  bear  personally  and  in  behalf  of  the  Company  a  reasonable  pro- 
portion, and  continue  to  do  so  in  the  future,  and  promote  this  glorious 
work.  Meanwhile  it  is  required  to  make  some  previous  arrange- 
ment to  provide  a  convenient  place  during  next  winter,  either  in  one 
of  the  outhouses  belonging  to  the  Attorney-General's  Department,  to 
which  I  should  give  the  preference,  or  any  other  convenient  place,  as 
may  be  approved  by  the  church  wardens. 

****** 
Done  in  haste,  in  our  bedroom,  on  the  14  Nov.,  1647. 
(Signed)        Yours  and  the  commonalty's  well  willing, 

P.  STUYYESANT.1 

"We  are  unable  to  find  any  evidence  that  the  Nine  Men  responded 
favorably  to  this  proposition,  and  it  appears  from  subsequent  events 
that  nothing  was  done  by  them. 

In  1649,  in  consequence  of  disagreement  between  the  Director  and 
the  Nine  Men,  the  latter,  under  the  leadership  of  Adriaen  Yan  der 
Donck,  prepared  a  memorial  to  the  States-General  of  Holland,  to 
which  was  annexed  the  so-called  "  Yertoogh  "  or  "  Remonstrance  of 
New  Netherland,"  setting  forth,  among  other  things,  "  the  reasons 
and  cause  of  the  great  decay  of  New  Netherland,"  and  "  in  what 
manner  New  Netherland  should  be  relieved."  Among  the  "  reasons" 
enumerated,  the  following  statement  occurs : 

The  plate  has  been  a  long  time  passed  around  for  a  common  school 
which  has  been  built  with  words,  for,  as  yet,  the  first  stone  is  not 
laid ;  some  materials  have  only  been  provided.  However,  the  money 
given  for  the  purpose  hath  all  disappeared  and  is  mostly  spent,  so 
that  it  falls  somewhat  short ;  and  nothing  permanent  has  as  yet  been 
effected  for  this  purpose.2 

Under  the  head,  "In  what  manner  New  Netherland  should  be 

relieved,"  we  find  the  following : 

****** 

.  .  .  It  is  doubtful  but  Divine  worship  must  be  entirely  inter- 
mitted in  consequence  of  the  clergyman's  departure,  and  the  Com- 
pany's inability.  There  ought  to  be  also  a  public  school  provided 
with  at  least  two  good  teachers,  so  that  the  youth,  in  so  wild  a  country, 
where  there  are  so  many  dissolute  people,  may,  first  of  all,  be  well 

1  Alb.  Rec,  vii,  107, 108.  2K  Y.  Col.  Doc,  i,  300. 


in  the  State  of  New  Yo 

instructed  and  indoctrinated  not  only  in  reading  and  writing,  but  also 
in  the  knowledge  and  fear  of  the  Lord.  Now,  the  school  is  kept  very 
irregularly,  by  this  one  or  that,  according  to  his  fancy,  as  long  as  he 
thinks  proper.  There  ought  to  be,  likewise,  asylums  for  aged  men, 
for  orphans,  and  similar  institutions.1 

Cornells  van  Tienhoven,  Secretary  to  the  Director  and  Council, 
replies  to  this  part  of  the  Eemonstrance : 

Although  the  new  schoolhouse,  toward  which  the  commonalty  con- 
tributed something,  has  not  yet  been  built,  it  is  not  the  Director,  but 
the  church  wardens,  who  have  charge  of  the  funds.  The  Director  is 
busy  providing  materials.  Meanwhile  a  place  has  been  selected  for  a 
school,  of  which  Jan  Cornelissen  has  charge.  The  other  teachers 
keep  school  in  hired  houses,  so  that  the  youth  are  not  in  want  of 
schools  to  the  extent  of  the  circumstances  of  the  country.  'Tis  true 
there  is  no  Latin  school  nor  academy ;  if  the  commonalty  require 
such,  they  can  apply  for  it  and  furnish  the  necessary  funds. 

*  Their  High  Mightinesses  granted  those  duties  to  the 

Company  to  facilitate  garrisons,  and  the  payment  of  the  expenses 
attendant  thereupon,  and  not  for  building  hospitals  and  orphan  asy- 
lums, churches  and  schoolhouses  for  the  people.         *         *         * 

If  they  [the  people  of  New  Netherland]  are  such  patriots  as  they 
appear  to  be,  let  them  be  leaders  in  generous  contributions  for  such 
laudable  objects,  and  not  complain  when  the  Directors  requested  a 
collection  toward  the  erection  of  a  church  and  a  school.2  ■ 

The  "  other  teachers  "  referred  to  by  the  Secretary,  seem  to  have 
been  Jan  Stevensen  and  Aryaen  Jansen,  accounts  of  whom  as  school- 
masters are  found  from  1643  to  1649,  but  nowhere  as  connected  with 
the  church  school,  of  which  this  Jan  Cornelissen  was  the  second 
teacher.3 

About  this  time  Cornelissen,  perhaps  in  consequence  of  the  dissen- 
sions which  had  arisen,  and  the  neglect  to  provide  a  suitable  place 
for  a  school,  signified  his  intention  to  resign ;  whereupon,  Director 
Stuyvesant  wrote  to  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam  "  for  a  pious,  well- 
qualified  and  diligent  schoolmaster,"  adding,  that  u  nothing  is  of 
greater  importance  than  the  right,  early  instruction  of  youth."4 

This  application  seems  to  have  been  referred  by  the  Classis  to  the 
•Directors  of  the  West  India  Company,  from  whose  letters  to  Direc- 
tor Stuyvesant  we  make  the  following  extracts : 

Jast.  27,  1649.  We  will  make  use  of  the  first  opportunity  to  sup- 
ply you  with  a  well-instructed  schoolmaster  ;   and  shall  inform  our- 

1 N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  i,  317. 
N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  i,  423,  424,  425,  431. 

3Dunshee,  p.  35,  who  also  quotes,  N.  Amst.  Rec,  v,  31, 150, 169. 
4  Dunshec,  p.  35.    Brodhead,  i,  508.     Cor.  CI.  Amst. 


10  Annals  of  Public  Education 

selves  about  the  person1  living  at  Hserlem,  whom  your  Honor  recom- 
mended.2 

Feb.  16, 1650.  We  appoint,  at  your  request,  a  schoolmaster,  who 
shall  also  act  as  comforter  of  the  sick.  He  is  considered  an  honest 
and  pious  man,  and  shall  embark  at  the  first  opportunity.3 

April  15,  1650.  The  schoolmaster  for  whom  you  solicited  comes 
in  the  same  vessel  with  this  letter.  The  Lord  grant  that  he  may  for 
a  long  time  exemplify  the  favorable  testimony  which  he  carried  with 
him  from  here,  to  the  edification  of  the  youth.4 

Mr.  Brodhead  (p.  516)  says  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam  sent  out 
Yerstius,  and  refers  to  a  letter  of  January  10,  1650,  which  seems  to 
belong  to  the  Correspondence  of  the  Classis.  This  tends  to  confirm 
the  opinion  that  Yerstius  was  the  teacher  referred  to  by  Stuy  vesant 
and  the  West  India  Company. 

In  the  early  part  of  1650,  Secretary  van  Tienhoven  drew  up  a 
paper  entitled  "  Information  relative  to  taking  up  land  in  New  JSTeth- 
erland,  in  the  form  of  colonies  or  private  bouweries"  [farms],  which 
seems  to  have  been  intended  for  the  use  of  the  Directors  of  the  West 
India  Company,  to  facilitate  emigration  to  New  Netherland.  After 
describing  "  those  lands  which  are  actually  the  most  convenient  and 
the  best,  and  ought  to  be  occupied  the  earliest,  where  and  how 
located,"  he  states  "  what  description  of  people  are  best  adapted  for 
agriculture  in  New  Netherland,  and  to  perform  the  most  service  and 
return  the  most  profit  in  the  beginning ;  and  it  is  interesting  to  find 
evidence  of  continued  regard  for  education,  and  a  recognition  of  its 
practical  utility  in  new  settlements,  in  the  fact  that  he  includes  as  one 
of  the  eleven  classes  of  persons  whose  services  are  needed : 

A  clergyman,  comforter  of  the  sick,  or  precentor,  who  could  also 
act  as  schoolmaster.5 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  condition  of  morals  as  quite  unfa- 
vorable. The  following  letter  from  the  Directors  of  the  West  India 
Company  to  Stuyvesant,  dated  April  4,  1652,  is  interesting  in  this 

connection : 

• 

In  ship  Romein  is  embarked  as  super-cargo  a  person  named  Fred- 
rick Alkis,  who  has  been  a  schoolmaster  at  Hoorn.  He  writes  a 
good  hand,  but  we  know  little  else  of  him.  He  is  recommended  to 
us  by  a  man  of  quality,  and  solicited  that  it  might  be  permitted  to 
him  to  remain  there  if  he  should  be  pleased  with  the  country,  which 
of  course   this   college  [meaning   the   Directors]    could   not   reject, 

1  This  person  seems  to  have  been  William  Verstius.  [Sometimes  spelled  Vestius 
and  Vestens.] 

2  Alb.  Rec,  iv,  17.  4  Alb.  Rec,  iv,  30. 

8  Alb.  Rec,  iv,23.  5N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  i,  361. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  11 

although  it  is  against  our  usual  practice ;  but  it  is  sometimes  a  diffi- 
cult task  to  give  a  denial.  If  his  conduct  is  as  good  as  his  pen,  and  a 
schoolmaster  wanted,  his  person  might  come  into  consideration, 
although  it  might  be  in  our  opinion  desirable  to  put  him  first  to  the 
test ;  as  we  have  observed  that  your  clime  does  not  reform  much  the 
manners  of  individuals,  of  which  there  is  yet  much  less  hope  if  the 
chiefs  of  the  administration  set  a  bad  example  to  others.  In  this 
respect  we  received  many  complaints  by  those  who  return  from  New 
Netherland,  in  respect  of  the  Attorney-General,  as  of  drunkenness  and 
other  vices.  If  he  might  continue  such  a  disorderly  life,  then  we 
shall  be  compelled  to  employ  such  means  of  restraint  as  we  deem 
expedient.1 

The  committee  of  the  States-General,  to  whom  the  "  Remon- 
strance "  of  1649  had  been  referred,  reported  a  "  Provisional  order 
for  the  government,  preservation  and  peopling  of  New  Netherland," 
which  contained  the  following  article  : 

VI.  New  Netherland  being  now  provided  with  only  one  clergy- 
man, orders  shall  be  given,  forthwith,  for  the  calling  and  support  of 
at  least  three  more ;  one  to  attend  to  divine  service  at  Rensselaer's 
colonie ;  the  second  in  and  around  the  city  of  New  Amsterdam  ;  and 
the  third  in  the  distant  settlements ;  and  the  commonalty  shall  be 
obliged  to  cause  the  youth  to  be  instructed  by  good  schoolmasters.2 

Owing  to  a  strenuous  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Directors  of  the 
West  India  Company  to  the  "  Provisional  Order "  as  a  whole,  it 
was  not  ratified  by  the  States-General.  The  Directors  themselves, 
however,  seem  to  have  finally  regarded  the  wishes  of  the  remonstrants 
in  regard  to  the  appointment  of  "at  least  two  good  schoolmasters," 
since  they  wrote  to  the  Director-General,  on  the  4th  of  April,  1652, 
as  follows : 

We  give  our  consent,  above  all  this,  that  one  public  school  may  be 
established,  for  which  one  schoolmaster  would  be  sufficient,  and  he 
might  be  engaged  aty250  annually.  We  recommend  you  Jan  de  la 
Montagne,  whom  we  have  provisionally  favored  with  the  appoint- 
ment. Your  Hon.  may  appropriate  the  City  Tavern  for  this  purpose, 
if  this  is  practicable.3  ***** 

[The  City  Tavern,  subsequently  named  the  Stadt  Huys  or  City 

Hall,  stood  on  the  corner  of  Pearl  street  and  Coenties  slip 

The  present  site  is  known  as  71  and  73  Pearl  street.4  For  a  view  and 
description  of  this  ancient  edifice,  see  Valentine's  Manual,  1852,  pp. 
378,  403.] 

The  actual  service  of  Montagne  is  established  by  the  following 
minute : 

1  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  i,  389.    O'Call.  N.  N. ,  ii,*134.  3  Alb.  Rec,  iv,  68. 

a  Alb.  Rec,  iv,  74.  4Dunsliee,  p.  38. 


12  Annals  of  Public  Education 

On  the  petition  of  John  Morice  de  la  Montagne,  the  Director 
General  and  Council  command  the  Comptroller  to  pay  the  supplicant 
three  or  four  months  of  his  wages.1 

The  fact  that  this  second  school  was  commenced  and  carried  on  for 
a  brief  period,  is  clearly  established ;  but  the  absence  of  any  subse- 
quent reference  to  it,  leads  to  the  strong  inference  that  its  existence 
was  of  short  duration.  The  principal  school,  however,  was  uninter- 
ruptedly conducted  by  Yestens  [Yerstius],  from  1650  to  1655.2 

Having  already  seen  that  a  school  was  in  contemplation  at  Bever- 
wyck  in  1643,  it  is  interesting  to  find  that  Andries  Jansz.  was 
employed  as  teacher  in  1650.3  We  infer  from  the  statement  in  the 
next  paragraph,  that  his  service  was  of  short  duration. 

The  offices  of  clergyman  and  schoolmaster  were  nominally  united 
in  the  person  of  Rev.  Gideon  Schaets,  who  was  employed  at  Rens- 
elaerswyck  Colonie  in  1652,  in  addition  to  his  regular  services  as 
clergyman  of  the  colony,  "  to  pay  attention  to  the  office  of  school- 
master for  old  and  young."4  Whether  he  actually  officiated  in  this 
capacity  does  not  appear  from  any  subsequent  records  which  we  have 
seen. 

In  1654,  Yerstius  had  petitioned  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam  for  an 
increase  of  salary,5  which  seems  not  to  have  been  granted. 

The  following  Council  minute  occurs  under  date  of  January  26, 
1655: 

William  Yerstius,  schoolmaster  and  chorister  in  this  city,  solicited 
the  Council  by  a  petition,  as  he  had  completed  his  service ;  and 
whereas  there  were  now  several  persons  fully  competent  to  acquit 
themselves  in  this  charge,  that  he  might  be  favored  with  his  dismis- 
sion, and  permitted  to  return  to  Holland  in  the  first  ship. 

On  which  petition  was  given  the  apostil,  that  it  would  be  commu- 
nicated to  the  Consistory  and  Ministers.6 

The  final  action  on  the  petition  of  Yerstius  for  dismission  was  as 
follows : 

Whereas  William  Yestius,  chorister  and  schoolmaster  of  this  city, 
hath  several  times  earnestly  solicited  leave  to  depart  for  the  Father- 
land, so  is  his  request  granted  him ;  and  in  consequence  thereof,  have 
the  Noble  Lords  of  the  Supreme  Council,  with  the  consent  of  the 
respected  Consistory  of  this  city,  appointed  Harmanus  Yan  Hoboocken 
as  chorister  and  schoolmaster  of  this  city,  at  g35  per  month,  and.  glOO 
annual  expenditures  ;  who  promises  to  conduct  himself  industriously 

1  Alb.  Rec,  vi,  49.  4  O'Call.  N.  N.,  ii,  567.    Brodhead,  p.  588. 

2Dunshee,  p.  40.  6Dunshee,  p.  37. 

3  O'Call.  N.  N.,  ii,  161, 162.  '  Alb.  Rec,  x,  6. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  13 

and  faithfully,  pursuant  to  the  instructions  already  given,  or  hereafter 
to  be  given. 

Done  in  Am.,  N.  N.,  23  March,  1655. 

(Signed)        NICASIUS  De  SILLE, 
La  MONTAGNE.1 

Mr.  Dunshee  enumerates  Verstius  as  the  third,  Montagne  as  the 
fourth,  and  Hobooeken  as  the  fifth  of  the  official  schoolmasters  in 
New  Amsterdam  (p.  51). 

The  following  entry  occurs  on  the  Council  minutes  for  Aug.  11, 
1655: 

A  petition  being  read  of  Harman  van  Hobooeken,  riow  the  choris- 
ter in  this  city,  soliciting,  as  he  is  burthened  with  a  wife  and  four 
small  children,  without  possessing  any  means  for  their  sustenance, 
that  his  salary  may  be  paid  to  him  monthly,  or,  at  least,  quarterly, 
so  is,  after  deliberation,  given  as  apostil  as  long  as  the  supplicant 
remains  in  service,  he  may  depend  on  the  punctual  payment  of  his 
salary.2 

The  records  of  the  burgomasters  and  schepens  of  New  Amster- 
dam, for  Feb.  21,  1656,  contain  this  minute : 

The  schout  having  exhibited,  in  conformity  to  instructions  from 
the  Honble  Director  General  and  Council,  the  request  of  the  school- 
master, Harman  van  Hobooeken,  in  court,  they  endorse — 

Said  schoolmaster  shall  communicate  to  the  burgomasters  and 
schepens  what  he  is  allowed  by  each  child  per  quarter,  pursuant  to 
instructions  from  the  Lord  General  and  Council,  which  being  done, 
further  order  shall  be  taken  on  petitioner's  request.8 

In  1656,  the  first  survey  of  the  city  was  made,  and  it  was  ascer- 
tained to  possess  120  houses  and  1,000  souls ;  and  "  the  number  of 
children  at  the  public  school  having  greatly  increased,  further  accom 
modation  was  allowed  to  Hobooeken,  the  schoolmaster."4  His  school- 
house  having  been  burned  partly  down,5  he  addressed  the  following 
application  to  the  city  magistrates : 

To  the  HonWe  Lords,  Burgomasters  and  Schepens  of  the  city  of  New 

Amsterdam : 

Harmen  van  Hoboken,  schoolmaster  of  this  city,  respectfully 
requests  that  your  Honours,  would  be  pleased  to  grant  him  the  Hall 
and  the  side  room  for  the  use  of  the  school  and  as  a  dwelling,  inas- 
much as  he,  the  petitioner,  does  not  know  how  to  manage  for  the 
proper  accommodation  of  the  children  during  winter,  for  they  much 
require  a  place  adapted  for  fire,  and  to  be  warmed,  for  which  their 
present  tenement  is  wholly  unfit.     He,  the  petitioner,  burthened  with 

1  Dunshee,  p.  37.    Alb.  Rec,  x,  29,  30;  xxv,133. 

2  Alb.  Rec,  x,  81.  4  O'Call.  N.  N.,  ii,  540.    Brod.,  p.  623. 
8  N.  Amst.  Rec.,  ii,  357.  5  Paulding's  N.  Amst.,  p.  40. 


14  Annals  of  Public  Education 

a  wife  and  children,  is  greatly  in  need  of  a  dwelling  for  them ;  and 
.  .  .  he  anticipates  great  inconvenience,  not  knowing  how  to  man- 
age for  the  accommodation  of  the  school  children;  and  if  your 
Honr  cannot  find  any,  he,  the  petitioner,  requests  your  Honrs  to  be 
pleased  to  allow  him  the  rent  of  the  back  room  which  Geurt  Coerten 
at  present  occupies,  which  he,  petr,  would  freely  accept  for  the  present, 
as  he  is  unable  to  pay  so  heavy  a  rent  as  a  whole  house  amounts  to. 

He  therefore  applies  to  your  Honors,  expecting  hereupon  your 
Honors  favorable  endorsement.         Was  subscribed, 

Your  Honrs  servant, 

HARM.  VAN  HOBOKEN. 
Dated  4  Nov.  1656.  - 

{Endorsement^ 
Whereas  the  City  Hall  of  this  city,  the  hall  and  little  room  whereof 
the  petitioner  now  requests  for  a  school  and  dwelling,  is  not  at  pre- 
sent in  repair,  and  is,  moreover,  required  for  other  purposes,  the  same 
cannot  be  allowed  him,  but  in  order  that  the  youth,  who  are  here 
quite  numerous,  may  have  the  means  of  instruction  as  far  as  possible, 
and  as  the  circumstances  of  the  city  permit,  the  petitioner,  for  want 
of  other  lodgings,  is  allowed  to  rent  the  said  house  for  a  school,  for 
which  one  hundred  guilders  shall  be  paid  him  yearly  on  ac  of  the 
city,  for  the  present  and  until  further  order.  Done  in  Court,  this  4 
Nov.,  1656,  at  Amsterdam  in  New  Netherlands 

From  the  following  statement  it  would  seem  that  the  rebuilding  of 
the  schoolhouse  was  indefinitely  postponed : 

The  burning  of  the  schoolhouse  while  the  youth  were  "  doing  so 
uncommon  well,"  led  to  the  revival  of  the  question  of  procuring  a 
suitable  edifice ;  and  the  magistrates  of  the  city,  writing  the  7th  of 
the  following  November  to  the  West  India  Company,  "  assert  that 
the  only  revenue  to  the  city  was  that  arising  from  the  excise  of  wines 
and  beers,  and  that  this  was  needed  for  immediate  expenses  in  repair- 
ing the  city  wall,  the  schoeyinge,  the  city  hall,  the  watch  apartments, 
the  building  of  the  schoolhouse,  and  for  several  other  improvements, 
and  ask  thereon  the  advice  of  the  company."2  It  is  not  known  what 
answer  was  returned  to  this  application,  but  one  thing  is  certain,  the 
condition  of  the  city  finances  was  such,  "  the  old  debt  made  in  the 
time  of  the  English  troubles  being  yet  unliquidated,"  that  the  school- 
house  was  not  built.3 

The  excise  tax,  above  referred  to,  had  been  imposed  by  the  Direc- 
tor-General and  Council  as  early  as  1644,4  and  again  in  1647,  to 
provide  means  to  carry  on  the  public  service.  In  1653,  the  proceeds 
of  the  excise  being  inadequate,  the  city  of  New  Amsterdam,  which 
during  the  preceding  year  had  been  invested  with  municipal  privi- 

1  N.  Amst.  Rec,  ii,  640,  641. 

2  In  the  same  letter  "  the  building  of  schools  "  is  mentioned,  in  describing  "  what  is 
most  urgent." 

3Dunshee,  p.  42.    N.  Amst.  Rec,  ii,  637,  638.  4Brod.  N.  Y.,  p.  394. 


/;v  the  State  of  New  York.  15 

leges,  was  called  upon  to  redeem  certain  pledges  made  by  the  Burgo- 
masters, which  they  agreed  to  fulfill,  provided  the  entire  proceeds  of 
the  excise  were  relinquished  to  them.1  After  a  long  dispute  a  com- 
promise was  made,  the  Burgomasters  proposing  to  support^  at  the 
expense  of  the  city,  the  following,  among  others  : 

Of  the  Ecclesiastique. 

One  of  the  Ministers  ; 

One  precentor,  being  at  the  same  time  schoolmaster ; 

One  Dog-whipper.     (1ST.  B.  JSTow  called  sexton.)2 

This  seems  to  have  been  the  first  municipal  provision  for  the  sup- 
port of  schools  in  the  colony.  It  proved,  however,  to  be  merely 
nominal ;  and  as  neither  the  clergymen,  the  schoolmaster,  nor  the 
sexton  were  paid,  the  Director  and  Council  reclaimed  the  excise  in 
1654,  and  farmed  it  out,  paying  from  the  proceeds  a  part,  at  least,  of 
the  salaries  then  due.8 

About  the  same  time  (1654),  municipal  privileges  were  granted  to 
the  Dutch  towns  on  Long  Island,  and  a  superior  District  Court  was 
organized,  with  general  authority  to  regulate  roads,  build  churches, 
establish  schools,  and  make  local  laws,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
Provincial  government.  This  arrangement  continued  until  1661,4 
though  we  as  yet  find  no  evidence  that  any  of  the  local  schools  here- 
after mentioned  were  thus  established. 

The  condition  of  education,  in  1657,  is  set  forth  in  the  following 
communication  in  regard  to  the  state  of  the  churches  in  New  Neth- 
erland,  addressed  to  the  Classis  in  Amsterdam  : 


So  it  stands  in  this  province  with  our  churches.  It  is  to  be  added 
that  (to  our  knowledge)  not  one  of  all  these  places,  whether  Dutch 
or  English  villages,  hath  a  schoolmaster,  except  the  Manhattans, 
Beverwyck,  and  now  one  also  at  Fort  Casmir  on  the  South  river  ;  and 
though  some  parents  would  give  their  children  some  instruction,  yet 
they  experience  much  diflficulty,  and  nothing  else  is  to  be  expected 
than  a  ruined  youth  and  a  bewilderment  of  men's  minds.  Scarcely 
any  means  can  be  seen  to  remedy  this  evil :  1,  because  some  villages 
are  only  in  their  first  establishment,  and  whilst  people  come  naked 
and  poor  'from  Holland,  they  have  not  means  to  provide  a  minister 
and  schoolmaster :  2,  because  there  are  few  qualified  persons  in  this 
country  who  can  or  will  teach.  *  *  *  * 

At  Amsterdam,  in  N.  Ketherland.      JOH.  MEGAPOLENSIS. 
August  5,  1657.  SAMUEL  DKISIUS.5 

1 0'Call.  N.  N.,  ii,  23,  255.  4  Brod.  N.  Y.,  580.    O'Call.  N.  N.,  ii,  271. 

9  Valentine's  Man.,  1848,  p.  378.         6N.  Y.  Doc.  Hist.,  Hi,  71  {4°  ed.),  107  (8°  ed). 
9  O'Call.  N.  N.,  ii,  298.    Brod.  N.  Y.,  p.  590. 


16  Annals  of  Public  Education 

While  the  official  schoolmasters  were  remunerated  from  the  Gov- 
ernment funds,  we  find  Adriaen  van  Ilpendam,  and  others,  institu- 
ting law  suits  against  individuals,  for  the  payment  of  tuition,  in 
beavers  and  shillings.1 

The  currency  of  New  Amsterdam  was  in  general  composed  of 
Indian  money,  called  wampum  or  seawant,  and  of  the  skins  of  ani- 
mals, principally  of  the  beaver. 

.  The  seawant  gradually  depreciated  in  value,  so  that  in 
1659,  sixteen  guilders  in  seawant,  at  the  stated  rate  of  value,  were 
required  in  exchange  for  one  beaver,  of  eight  guilders  value  ;  about 
three  dollars  each.2 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  court  record  in  regard  to  two  suits 
brought  by  Ilpendam : 

Ordinary  Sessions  in  Fort  Orange, 
1  Sept.,  1660. 
Adriaen  van  Ilpendam,  plaintiff,  vs.  Gillis  Pietersen,  def. 
The  plaintiff  demands  of  the  defendant  payment  of  ten  and  a  half 
beaver  and  two  shillings,  for  school  money. 
The  defendant  acknowledges  the  debt. 

The  court  condemns  the  defendant  to  pay  the  plaintiff  the  demanded 
beavers,  and  this  within  six  weeks. 

Adriaen  van  Ilpendam,  plaintiff,  vs.  Peter  Lockerman,  def. 
The  plaintiff  demands  payment  of  two  beavers  for  one  year's  school 
money. 

The  defendant  acknowledges  the  debt. 

The  court  condemns  the  defendant  [as  above].3' 

The  earliest  observed  mention  of  Evert  Pietersen,  the  sixth  regu- 
lar schoolmaster  in  New  Amsterdam,  occurs  in  the  following  quota- 
tion : 

Extract  from  the  letter  of  Evert  Pietersen,  comforter  of  the  sick, 
and  schoolmaster  in  the  Colonie  established  by  this  city,  Amster- 
dam, on  the  South  [Delaware]  Kiver,  in  New  Netherland,  dated 
10th  August,  1657 : 
We  arrived  here  at  the  South  Kiver,  on  the  25th  April,  and  found 

20  families  there,  mostly  Swedes,  not  more  than  5  or  6  families 

belonging  to  our  nation. 

****** 

I  already  begin  to  keep  school,  and  have  25  children,  etc. 
****** 

EVEKT  PIETEKSEN.4 

During  the  winter  of  1658-59,  the  colony  at  New  Amstel,  on  the 
Delaware,  experienced  great  distress,  so  that  in  a  few  months,  famine, 

Dunshee,  p.  39.  8Alb.  Rec,  vi,  295. 

'Paulding,  pp.  28,  30,  31.  4N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  ii,  17. 


TN   THE   fir  ATE   OF  NEW   YORK.  17 

sickness  and  desertion  had  reduced  the  population  to  less  than  thirty 
families.  Several  of  those  who  left  the  colony  came  to  New  Amster- 
dam, among  whom  was  Evert  Pietersen,  who  from  the  first  had  been 
their  schoolmaster.  Here,  according  to  Mr.  Dunshee,  he  was  employed 
by  the  Director  General,  either  as  a  colleague  with  Hoboocken,  or 
as  his  locum  tenens,  while  he  was  disqualified  from  teaching  by  sick- 
ness. It  appears,  however,  from  the  action  of  the  city  officials,  and 
from  an  "  Order  in  Council,"  which  Mr.  Dunshee  quotes  at  length, 
that  he  was  superseded  by  Pietersen,  and  was  subsequently  employed 
in  Stuyvesant's  "  bouwery  "  as  far  north  as  Twelfth  street,  Pietersen's 
school  being  at  the  south  end  of  the  island.1 

Feiday  Afternoon,  16  January,  1660 :  In  the  City  Hall. 

Mr.  Hermen  van  Hoboocke  requests  by  petition  that  he  may 
receive  an  allowance  from  the  city,  as  he  is  behindhand  with  the 
building  of  the  school,  and  for  divers  other  reasons  set  forth  in  the 
petition ;  on  which  petition  is  apostilled : 

Petitioner  is  allowed  to  receive  his  current  year's  salary,  which 
shall  be  paid  him  at  a  more  convenient  season,  on  an  order  of  the 
burgomasters  on  the  Heer  Treasurer,  and  his  allowance  is  henceforth 
abolished.2 

The  following  is  the  "  Order  in  Council  "  above  referred  to,  dated 
Oct.  27,  1661 : 

Whereas,  Harman  van  Hoboocken,  before  schoolmaster  and  choris- 
ter, was  removed  because  another  was  sent  to  replace  him  [Pietersen], 
by  the  Lords  Directors  and  the  Consistory,  solicits  to  be  employed 
again  in  one  or  other  manner  in  the  Company's  service,  so  is  he 
engaged  as  Adelhorst  [signifying  a  sergeant  or  something  above  a 
common  soldier],  and  allowed  10  guilders  per  month  and  175^.  for 
board,  from  27th  Oct.,  1661. 

Nota:  Whereas  the  aforesaid  Harman  is  a  person  of  irreproacha- 
ble life  and  conduct,  so  shall  he  be  employed  on  the  bouwery  of  the 
Director  General  as  schoolmaster  and  clerls  [voorleser],  with  this  con- 
dition, that  the  Director  General,  whenever  his  service  might  be 
wanted  for  the  Company  as  adelborst,  shall  replace  him  by  another 
expert  person.8 

.  From  this  date,  until  after  the  capitulation,  there  were  two  schools 
under  the  care  of  the  Consistory;  Pietersen's,  at  or  near  Fort 
Amsterdam,  and  Hoboocken's,  on  the  Bouwery.4 

The  period  of  Pietersen's  engagement  is  not  definitely  known ;  but 
on  his  return  to  Holland  he  petitioned  the  West  India  Company  for 

1  Dunshee,  pp.  45,  47.  »  Alb.  Rec.,  xix,  383. 

a  N.  Amst.  Rec,  iii,  407,  408.  *  Dunshee,  p.  47. 


18  Annals  of  Public  Education 

a  permanent   engagement,   the   Director   General   and   magistrates 
recommending  his  reappointment.1 

The  Directors  of  the  Company  wrote  to  Stuyvesant,  December  24, 
1660: 

We  will  consider  the  petition  of  Mr.  Evert  Pietersen,  late  school- 
master and  chorister  in  the  colonie  of  the  city,  to  be  employed  again 
in  the  Company's  service,  and  return  thither  with  his  wife,  and 
enquire  here  about  his  character,  conduct  and  abilities,  when  we 
shall  communicate  the  result  to  your  Honour.2 

Subsequently,  the  following  letter,  dated  May  2,  1661,  was  received 
by  Governor  Stuyvesant : 

The  Directors  of  the  West  India  Company,  Department  of  Amster- 
dam, to  the  honorable,  prudent,  beloved,  trusty  Petrus  Stuyvesant, 
Director  General  and  Council,  make  known : 

Whereas,  we  have  deemed  it  necessary  to  promote  religious  wor- 
ship, and  to  read  to  the  inhabitants  the  word  of  God,  to  exhort  them, 
to  lead  them  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord,  and  console  the  sick,  that  an 
expert  person  was  sent  to  New  Netherland,  in  the  city  of  New 
Amsterdam,  who  at  the  same  time  should  act  there  as  chorister  and 
schoolmaster ;  so  it  is,  that  we,  upon  the  good  report  which  we  have 
received  about  the*  person  of  Evert  Pietersen,  and  confiding  in  his 
abilities  and  experience  in  the  aforesaid  services,  together  on  his 
pious  character  and  virtues,  have,  on  your  Honor's  recommendation, 
and  that  of  the  magistrates  of  the  city  of  New  Amsterdam,  appointed 
the  aforesaid  person  as  consoler  of  the  sick,  chorister  and  schoolmas- 
ter, at  New  Amsterdam,  in  New  Netherland,  which  charge  he  shall 
fulfil  there,  ahd  conduct  himself  in  these  with  all  diligence  and 
faithfulness  ;  also  we  expect  that  he  shall  give  others  a  good  example, 
so  as  it  becomes  a  pious  and  good  consoler,  clerk,  chorister  and 
schoolmaster;  regulating  himself  in  conformity  to  the  instructions 
which  he  received  here  from  the  Consistory,  and  principally  to  the 
instructions  which  he  received  from  us,  which  he  shall  execute  in 
every  point  faithfully  :  Wherefore,  we  command  all  persons,  without 
distinction,  to  acknowledge  the  aforesaid  Evert  Pietersen  as  consoler, 
clerk,  chorister  "and  schoolmaster  in  New  Amsterdam,  in  New 
Netherland,  and  not  to  molest,  disturb  or  ridicule  him  in  any  of 
these  offices,  but  rather  to  offer  him  every  assistance  in  their  power, 
and  deliver  him  from  every  painful  sensation,  by  which  the  will  of 
the  Lord  and  our  good  intentions  shall  be  accomplished. 

Done  by  the  Department  of  Amsterdam,  on  the  2d  of  May,  XVIc 
and  sixty-one. 

(Signed)  ABEAM  WILMEEDONCX. 

By  order  of  the  above, 

C.  VAN  SEYENTEE.3 

1  Dunshee,  p.  43.     O'Call.  N.  N.,  ii,  374, 388.   Brocl.  N.  Y.,  652,653. 

?  Alb.  Rec,  iv,  364.  8  Alb.  Rec.,  viii,  321.    Dunshee,  p.  44. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  19 

In  a  few  days,  another  letter  from  the  same  source,  dated  May  9th, 
1661,  was  received,  in  which  Pietersen's  salary  is  fixed,  and  instruc- 
tions given  with  respect  to  the  books  he  would  need  as  krankbesoecker 
(comforter  of  the  sick)  r1 

Honorable,  prudent,  beloved  Faithful : 

•x-  *  -*      .  #  *  *■ 

We  have  engaged,  on  your  Honor's  recommendation  and  that  of 
the  magistrates  of  the  city  of  New  Amsterdam,  Mr.  Evert  Pietersen 
as  schoolmaster  and  clerk,  upon  a  salary  of  ^36  per  month  [$15],  and 
gl25  [$52  +  ]  annually  for  his  board,  who  is  now  embarked  in  the 
ship  The  Gilded  Beaver,2  but  not  with  his  wife,  whose  indisposition, 
as  he  said,  prevented  her  departure.  And  whereas,  he  solicited  to 
be  supplied  with  some  books  and  stationery,  which  would  be  of  ser- 
vice to  him  in  that  station,  so  did  we  resolve  to  send  you  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  these  articles,  as  your  Honor  may  see  from  the  invoice. 
Your  Honor  ought  not  to  place  all  these  at  his  disposal  at  once,  but 
from  time  to  time,  when  he  may  be  in  want  of  these,  when  his 
account  ought  directly  to  be  charged  with  its  amount ;  so,  too,  he 
must  be  charged  with  all  such  books  of  which  he  may  be  in  want  as 
a  consoler  of  the  sick,  which  he  might  have  obtained  from  your 
Honor,  which  afterward  might  be  reimbursed  to  Jhim,  whenever  he, 
ceasing  to  serve  in  that  capacity,  might  return  these  ;  all  these  must 
be  valued  at  the  invoice  price.3 

This  correspondence  establishes  Evert  Pietersen  as  the  sixth  school- 
master of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  school.4 

The  requirement  that  all  teachers  be  licensed,  seems  to  have  been 
duly  observed  and  enforced,  as  appears  by  the  following  extracts  from 
the  Council  minutes  and  the  New  Amsterdam  Records : 

Andreas  Hudde  appeared  before  the  Director  General  and  Council, 
and  solicited  a  license  to  keep  school,  received  for  answer  that  the 
Council  shall  ask'  upon  his  proposal  the  opinion  of  the  Minister  and 
the  Consistory.     Done  in  New  Amsterdam,  31  December,  1665.5 

On  motion — The  Attorney-General  is  commanded,  to  go  to  the 
house  of  Jacob  Yan  Corler,  who  has,  since  some  time,  arrogated  to 
himself  to  keep  school,  and  to  warn  him  that  Director  General  and 
Council  have  deemed  it  proper  to  send  him  a  supersedeas,  till  he 
shall  have  solicited  and  obtained  from  the  Director  General  and 
Council  an  act  in  propria  forma,     19  February,  1658.6 

To  the  Rt.  Honble  Lords  the  Lord  Director  Genl.  and  Lords  Coun- 
cillors of  N.  Netherland : 
Right  Honble  Lords — The  burgomasters  and  schepens  of  the  city 
of  Amsterdam,  in  N.  Netherland,  represent  with  all  respect,  that 
some  burghers  and  inhabitants  of  the  ahovenamed  city  have  presented 

1  Dunsh.ee,  p.  44.  4  Dunshee,  p.  45. 

2  K  Y.  Doc.  Hist.,  iii,  37  (4°  eel.),  58  (8*  ed.)  6  Alb.  Rec.,  ix,  309. 

8  Alb.  Rec,  iv,  373.  6  Alb.  Rec. ,  xiv,  114. 


20  Annals  of  Public  Education 

a  certain  petition  to  this  Court,  whereof  a  copy  is  hereunto  annexed, 
remonstrating  that  your  Honours  were  pleased  to  notify  Jacob  van 
Corlaar,  through  the  Heer  Fiscal  Nicasius  de  Sille,  not  to  keep  any 
school ;  and  as  they,  the  petitnra,  find  themselves  greatly  interested 
thereby,  as  their  children  had  forgot  what  the  above  named  Jacob 
van  Corlaar  had  to  their  great  satisfaction  previously  taught  them  in 
reading,  writing  and  cyphering,  which  was  much  more  than  any 
other  person,  no  one  excepted ;  therefore  they  request  that  the  above 
named  Corlaar  may  be  allowed  again  to  keep  school ;  and  although 
the  above  named  burgomasters  and  two  schepens  have  spoken  ver- 
bally thereon  to  your  Honrs,  and  your  Hon1"8  were  not  pleased  to 
allow  it,  for  reasons  thereunto  moving  your  Honrs,  they  therefore,  in 
consequence  of  the  humble  supplication  of  the  burghers  and  inhabi- 
tants aforesaid,  again  request  that  your  Hon1*8  may  be  pleased  to  per- 
mit the  above  named  Corlaar  again  to  keep  school,  which  doing,  we 
remain  your  Honrs  subjects.  The  Burgomasters  and  Schepens. 
In  Amsterdam,  in  N.  Netherland,  the  5th  March,  1658. 
By  order  of  the  Burgomrs  and  Schepens  of  the  city  aforesaid. 

JOANNES  NEVIUS,  Setfy.1 

In  Council,  19  March  [1658]. 

Presented  a  petition  of  burgomasters  and  schepens  of  this  city, 
soliciting,  that  Jacob  Yan  Corlear,  who,  on  the  19  February  last,  was 
interdicted  by  the  Director  General  and  Council  to  keep  school, 
might  be  permitted  it  in  the  city.     The  apostill  was — 

School-keeping  and  the  appointment  of  schoolmasters  depend  abso- 
lutely from  the  jus  Patronatus  in  virtue  of  which  Director  General 
and  Council  interdicted  school-keeping  to  Jacob  Yan  Corlear,  as  hav- 
ing arrogated  it  to  himself  without  their  orders,  in  which  resolution 
they  do  as  yet  persist.2 

Being  presented  a  petition  of  Jacobus  Yan  Corler,  soliciting  the 
permission. to  keep  school  within  this  city,  and  to  instruct  children  in 
reading  and  writing. 

For  weighty  reasons  influencing  the  Director  General  and  Council, 
the  apostill  was  nihil  actum.     26  March,  1658.3 

A  petition  being  presented  of  Jan  Lubberts,  soliciting,  that  he 
might  be  permitted  to  keep  school,  to  instruct  in  reading,  writing 
and  arithmetic : 

The  apostill  was : 

The  petition  is  granted,  provided  he  conducts  himself  as  such  a 
person  ought  to  do.     30  July,  1 658.4 

To  the  Hon.   Kespectful,   Yaliant   Director   General   and  Council 

in  K  K : 
Shows  with  all  due  and  submissive  reverence  Jan  Juriaense  Becker — 
your  supplicant,  that  he,  through  the  caprices  of  the  unsteady  For- 

1 N.  Amst.  Rec,  iii,  87,  88.  3  Alb.  Rec,  xiv,  158. 

8  Alb.  Rec,  xiv,  151.  4  Alb.  Rec,  xiv,  318. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  21 

tune — since  a  short  time — not  knowing  why — has  been  compelled  to 
become  a  tavern-keeper — for  which  he  nearly  sacrificed  all  what  he 
possessed — and  whereas,  the  supplicant  is  apprehensive  that  many 
difficulties,  and  even  poverty  is  threatening  him  and  his  family — So 
is  it,  that  the  supplicant,  imploring  addresses  himself  to  your  Hon., 
soliciting  most  humbly,  that  it  may  please  your  Hon.  to  regard  with 
pity  the  supplicant,  being  an  old  Company's  servant,  and  to  employ 
him  as  a  writer  in  the  service  of  the  Company,  either  in  the  Esopus — 
here  or  anywhere  else,  where  ever  your  Hon.  might  deem  it  proper — 
or — if  your  Hon.  cannot  employ  him  at  this  time  in  their  service — that 
then  the  supplicant  might  be  permitted  to  keep  school,  to  instruct 
the  youth  in  reading  and  writing,  etc.  Expecting  a  favorable  apos- 
till,  he  remains  Your  Hon.  obedient  ser't, 

J.  BECKER 
Done  in  Amsterdam,  in  N.  Netherland,  15  Aug.,  1660. 

The   apostill  was:   Fiat — the  keeping  of  a  school.      16  August 
[1660].1 

To  the  Noble,  great  and  Kespected  the  Director  General  and  Council 

in  JS".  ISTetherland : 
Shows  reverently,  Johannes  Van  Gelder,  a  citizen  and  inhabitant 
of  this  city,  how  that  he,  supplicant — being  tolerably  well  acquainted 
with  reading  and  writing,  it  has  happened  that  several  of  the  princi- 
pal inhabitants  of  this  city  advised  and  encouraged  him  too — to  open 
a  public  school,  and  consequently  induced  the  supplicant — w,ho  looks 
out  for  a  living  in  an  honorable  way — to  adopt  their  advice — in  the 
hope  tjiat  he  shall  execute  this  task  to  their  satisfaction  who  shall 
make  use  of  his  service — but  as  this  is  not  permitted,  except  that  an 
admission  is  previously  obtained,  so  he  addresses  himself  to  your 
Hon's,  requesting  their  admission  for  this  exercise — viz — keeping  a 
public  school — which  doing,  etc. 

Your  Honors'  subject  and  servant, 

JOHANNES  YAN  GELDER. 
The  apostill  was :  Fiat,  quod  jpetitur.  21  September,  1662.2 
The  foundation  of  the  first  academy  and  classical  school,  in  the 
city  of  New  Amsterdam,  has  been  ascribed3  to  a  representation  trans- 
mitted to  Holland,  Sept.  19;  1658,  as  part  of  a  petition  of  the  burgo- 
masters and  schepens  to  the  West  India  Company,  a  copy  of  which 
is  hereafter  given.  We  find,  however,  an  earlier  document  on  this 
subject,  as  follows : 

The  Directors  of  the  West  India  Company  to  the  Director  General. 

20  May,  1658 : 
*****  * 

The  Rev.  Driesius  mentioned  to  us  more  than  once  that  it  might, 
in  his  opinion,  be  serviceable   if  a  Latin  school  was  established,  in 

1  Alb.  Rec,  xxiv,  874,  375.  3  Paulding's  N.  Amst,  41.    Dunshee,  52. 

2  Alb.  Rec,  xx,  215. 


22  Annals  of  Public  Education 

which  the  youth  might  be  instructed — in  which  he  was  willing  to 
engage  his  service ;  and  whereas,  we  do  not  disapprove  this  plan,  so 
we  thought  its  communication  proper,  that  your  Hon.,  if  you  con- 
sidered it  proper  to  make  an  experiment  of  such  an  establishment, 
might  advise  us  in  what  manner  such  an  institution  might  be  carried 
into  effect  to  the  greatest  advantage  for  the  community,  and  with  the 
least  expense  to  the  Company.1 

The  representation  of  the  burgomasters  and  schepens,  above 
referred  to,  dated  Sept.  19,  1658,  was  in  the  following  words : 

Eight  Honble,  Wise,  Prudent  Lords  and  Patroons  and  Commissaries 

of  N.  Netherland : 
*  #  -*  %  *  % 

Further,  laying  before  your  Honr8  the  great  augmentation  of  the 
youth  in  the  Province  and  place,  which  yearly  increases  more  and 
more,  and  finds  itself  now  very  numerous,  and  though  many  of  them 
can  read  and  write,  the  burghers  and  inhabitants  are  nevertheless 
inclined  to  have  their  children  instructed  in  the  most  useful  languages, 
the  chief  of  which  is  the  Latin  tongue  ;  and  as  there  are  no  means 
to  do  so  here,  the  nearest  being  at  Boston,  in  1ST.  England,  a  great 
distance  from  here,  and  many  of  the  burghei-s  and  inhabitants  of  this 
place  and  neighborhood  having  neither  the  ability  nor  means  to  send 
their  children  thither,  we  shall  therefore  again  trouble  your  Honrs, 
and  humbly  request  that  your  Honrs  would  be  pleased  to  send  us  a 
suitable  person  for  master  of  a  Latin  school,  in  order  that  our  child- 
ren may  be  instructed  in,  and  study  such  language,  not  doubting  but 
were  such  person  here,  many  of  the  neighboring  places  would  send 
their  children  hither  to  be  instructed  in  that  tongue ;  hoping  that, 
increasing  from  year  to  year,  it  may  finally  attain  to  an  Academy, 
whereby  this  place,  arriving  at  great  splendour,  your  Honrs  shall  have 
the  reward  and  praise,  next  to  God  the  Lord  who  will  grant  his  bless- 
ing to  it.  On  your  Hon1"8  sending  us  a  schoolmaster,  we  shall  endeavor 
to  have  constructed  a  suitable  place  or  school.2 

The  engagement  of  Alexander  Carolus  Curtius,  as  the  first  teacher 
of  the  Latin  school,  is  recorded  in  the  following  extract  from  the 
Register  of  Resolutions  of  the  Directors  of  the  West  Indian  Com- 
pany Department  of  Amsterdam,  as  communicated  to  the  officials  of 
New  Amsterdam : 

Thursday  the  10  April,  1659. 
Appeared  before  the  Directors,  Alexander  Carolus  Curtius,  before 
a  Professor  in  Lithuania,  of  whom  mention  is  made  in  former  min- 
utes, who  made  an  offer  of  his  services,  on  which  it  was  resolved  to 
engage  him  as  schoolmaster  in  the  Latin  language,  in  New  Nether- 
land,  on  a  salary  of  /500  annually,  of  which  shall  be  advanced  to  him 
a  fourth,  to  provide  himself  with  the  necessary  books,  and  moreover 
he  was  presented  by  the  Directors  with  one  hundred  guilders,  which 

1  Alb.  Rec,  iv,  268. 

'Paulding's  N.  Amst,  41,  42.     Dunshec,  p.  52.    N.  Amst.  Rec,  iii,  233. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  23 

he  may  employ  in  merchandise  to  be  of  service  to  him  at  his  arrival 
in  N.  JSTetherland. 

When  he  arrives  there,  a  proper  spot  for  a  garden  and  orchard  shall 
be  given  him  by  the  Director  General,  while  he*  is  further  permitted 
to  give  private  instruction,  if  it  does  not  interfere  with  the  office 
which  he  has  accepted.1 

The  Directors  wrote  to  the  Director  General,  under  date  of  April 
25,  1659 : 

Our  earnest  exertions  to  provide  your  city  with  a  Latin  schoolmas- 
ter shall,  we  expect,  be  placed  beyond  doubt  by  the  arrival  of  Alex- 
ander Carolus  Curtius,  who  was  before  a  Professor  in  Lithuania, 
whom  we  have  engaged  for  this  purpose,  allowing  him  an  annual 
salary  of  y500,  .  .  .  boarding  included,  besides  one  hundred 
more  as  a  gift,  to  purchase  merchandise,  of  which  he  may  dispose  to 
his  advantage  at  his  arrival,  as  you  will  see  from  the  enclosed  extract 
of  our  resolutions,  and  the  copy  of  our  contract  with  him. 

-*  *  *  *  *  * 

The  books  which  the  schoolmaster  required  to  instruct  the  youth 
in  the  Latin  language,  will  not  be  made  ready  from  the  unexpected 
departure  of  the  vessels,  wherefore  this  must  be  postponed  to  the 
next  opportunity.2 

The  Latin  schoolmaster  was  present  at  a  meeting  of  the  burgo- 
masters in  the  City  Hall,  Friday,  July  4,  1659 : 

Alexander  Carolus  Curtius  appears  in  Court,  who  is  informed  that 
^200  are  allowed  him  as  a  yearly  present  from  the  city ;  an  order  on 
the  Treasurer  is  also  handed  him  for  fl^O  over  and  above,  which  he 
thankfully  accepts ;  but  requests,  as  he  has  but  few  scholars  as  yet, 
that  his  salary  may  be  somewhat  increased,  as  the  beginning  entails 
great  expense,  saying,  whenever  he  gets  25  to  30  children  to  the 
school,  he  shall  serve  for  less  salary ;  but  refers  it  to  the  discretion  of 
the  No :  Magistrates.8 

The  arrival  of  the  Latin  schoolmaster  is  also  mentioned  in  a  letter 
from  Stuyvesant  and  the  Council,  to  the  Directors,  dated  July  23, 
1659 : 

The  person  of  Alexander  Carolus  Curtius,  whom  your  Hon. 
engaged  to  instruct  in  the  Latin  language,  arrived  here.  We  hope 
and  confide  that  the  community  shall  reap  great  benefits  from  it  for 
their  children,  for  which  we  pray  that  a  bountiful  God  may  vouchsafe 
his  blessing.  The  state  of  this  new  institution  shall  be  ere  long  com- 
municated to  your  Hon.4 

The  Directors  wrote  Stuyvesant,  December  22,  1659  :  * 

The  complaints  which  have  been  made  by  the  Latin  schoolmaster 
or  rector  shall,  in  our  opinion,  in  great  part  be  removed.     Now 

1  Alb.  Rec,  viii,  201,  202.       3N.  Amst  Rec,  iii,  378.     Paulding's  N.  Ainst,  p.  42. 

2  Alb.  Kec,  iv,  303,  305.         4Alb.  Rec,  xviii,  19,  20. 


24  Annals  of  Public  Education 

henceforward  the  payment  is  made  according  to  the  value  of  Holland 
currency.  If  to  this  sum  is  added  that  which  he  receives  from  his 
pupils  annually,  then  it  would  seem  to  be  adequate  for  the  sustenance 
of  a  single  individual — more  so — as  his  salary  from  time  to  time 
must  be  increased  by  the  increase  of  the  youth  whose  parents  cannot 
decently  neglect  to  reward ,  his  endeavors  which  he  bestows  on  the 
instruction  of  their  children.  In  this  your  Hon.  ought  to  assist  him, 
and  recommend  him  to  the  parents,  as  the  circumstances  of  time 
may  permit.1 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  of  William  Beeekman,  at 
that  time  Yice-Director  of  the  colony  on  Delaware  river,  to  Director 
General  Stuyvesant,  dated  New  Amstel,  March  15,  1660 : 

Noble,  Honorable,  Respectful,  Wise  and  very  Prudent  Sir : 

■*  #  #  #  #  # 

I  kindly  solicit  that  your  Hon.  will  permit  me — when  an  opportu- 
nity is  offered — to  visit  the  Manhattans  in  May  or  June.  I  intend 
to  bring  my  two  oldest  boys  to  school.2  *  *  * 

It  is  presumed  that  Mr.  Beeekman  here  refers  to  the  Latin  school 
under  consideration. 

That  Professor  Curtius  was  also  a  physician,  appears  from  the  fol- 
lowing extract  of  a  letter  from  the  Directors  to  Stuyvesant,  dated 
April  16,  1660: 

As  we  have  been  informed  that  Rector  Curtius  is  practising  physic, 
and  did  solicit  that  we  would  provide  him  with  an  Herbarium,  which 
would  be  to  him  of  great  service,  so  we  send  him  this  book  by  the 
present  opportunity,  which  your  Honour  will  deliver  to  him — but 
the  book  ought  to  remain  the  property  of  the  Company — so,  too,  the 
books  which  have  been  lately  transmitted.  Your  Honour  ought  to 
make  a  memorandum  of  all  these  articles,  so  that  it  may  not  be  for- 
gotten.3 

Rector  Curtius  seems  not,  however,  to  have  justified  the  anticipa- 
tions formed  in  regard  to  himself  and  the  school.  He  soon  became 
involved  in  a  petty,  but  protracted  and  unsuccessful  lawsuit,  as  appears 
from  the  following  curious  records  of  the  Burgomasters'  Court,  com- 
mencing Jan.  13,  1660  : 

Capt.  Jan  Jacob,  pltff.  vs.  Alexander  Carolus  Curtius,  def.  and  Daniel 
Tourneur,  deft.  Alexander  default.  Pltff.  demands  benefit  of  the 
default. 

Daniel  Tourneur  appearing,  declares  to  have  sold  a  hog  for  Capt. 
Jacob  to  Alexander  Carolus  Curtius,  for  five  beavers,  and  having 
reed  the  hog,  therefor  saying  and  promising  to  give  two  beavers 
down,  and  the  remaining  three  at  the  end  of  the  month. 

1  Alb.  Kec,  iv,  325.  3  Alb.  Rec,  iv,  341,  342. 

2A-lb.  Rec,  xvii,  43. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  25 

Capt.  Jacob  says  he  hath  attached  the  Galiot  [hog?],  requesting 
that  the  attachment  be  declared  valid. 

The  W  :  Court  declare  the  attachment  valid.1 

20  Jan.  1660. 
Jan  Jacobsen,  pltff.  vs.  Alexander  Carolus  Curtius,  def. 

Pltff  demands  from  def.  five  beavers  for  a  hog,  according  to  evi- 
dence of  Daniel  Tourneur,  and  the  costs  accrued  thereon. 

Def.  offers  an  exception  as  not  being  amenable  before  this  Court, 
but  before  the  Director  General  and  Council ;  says  he  purchased  a 
hog  for  two  beavers  and  two  blankets,  and  can  prove  so  by  Jan 
Schriver,  who,  being  called  in,  appears  and  declares  that  Dome. 
Rector  commissioned  him  to  buy  a  hog  for  two  blankets  and  two 
beavers,  and  says  that  Daniel  Tourneur,  as  authorized  by  Jan  Jacobz., 
told  him  that  Dome.  Rector  should  have  the  hog  for  two  beavers  and 
two  blankets. 

The  W :  Court  order  parties  on  both  sides  to  summon  their  wit- 
nesses against  the  next  Court,  to  confront  them  with  each  other.2 

11  Feb.,  1660. 

Alexander  Carolus  Curtius  appears  in  Court,  requests  that  his  wit- 
nesses may  be  heard  relative  to  the  hogs  in  dispute  with  Capt.  Jacob. 

Jan  Schryver  appears  as  witness  in  Court,  who  is  informed  that 
the  Rector  calls  on  him ;  whereupon  he  declares  that  the  hog  in 
question  was  bought  for  two  beavers  and  two  blankets ;  offering  to 
confirm  the  same  on  oath. 

And  whereas,  Capt.  Jacob's  witness  has  not  been  heard,  Capt. 
Jacob  is  ordered  to  summon  Daniel  Tourneur  at  the  next  Court  day.8 

IT  Feb.,  1660. 

Daniel  Tourneur  and  Jan  Schryver  appearing  in  Court,  are  asked 
about  the  sale  of  the  hog  which  took  place  between  Capt.  Jacob  and 
the  Rector  Alexander  Carolus  Curtius. 

Daniel  Tourneur  declares  that,  after  many  words  of  praising  and 
bidding,  the  hog  was  sold  to  Dome.  Rector  for  five  beavers,  saying 
that  Capt.  Jacob  would  not  sell  that  hog  less  than  five  beavers,  which 
was  told  to  the  Rector ;  to  which  the  Rector  answered,  saying,  in 
God's  name  he  had  but  two  beavers,  and  he  must  wait  for  the  other 
three ;  to  which  Capt.  Jacob  would  hardly  agree ;  finally,  througk 
the  mediation  of  Joannus  Meulen,  he  let  himself  be  persuaded ; 
offeringto  confirm  the  same  on  oath. 

The  W  :  Court  gave  the  parties  eight  days  respite  to  recollect 
themselves,  and  if  they  have  any  proof,  to  bring  it  also  in.4 

1  June,  1660.     Deft  [Curtius]  default. 

24  August,  1660.      * 
Capt.  Jan  Jacobzen,  pltff,  vs.  Alexander  Carolus  Curtius,  deft,  and 
Danl.  Tourneur  as  witness.     Deft  default. 
Pltff  produces   certain   written  declaration   of  Daniel  Tourneur 
relative  to  the  sale  of  the  hogs  in  question,  which  the  pltff"  sold  to 

1K.  Amst.  Rec,  iv,  136.  8N.  Amst.  Bee.,  iv,  182. 

1 N.  Amst.  Rec,  iv,  143.     _  4  N.  Ainst.  Rec,  iv, 


>  OF   THE  '  r 

TTMnTTTTJCtTTlV 


26  Annals  of  Public  Education 

the  deft,  declaring,  under  offer  of  oath,  that  the  same  were  sold  for 
five  beavers  ;  and  whereas  Jan  Schryver  is  also  acquainted  with  the 
purchase,  he  was  ordered  to  be  called,  who,  appearing,  declares  under 
offer  of  oath,  that  the  sale  was  for  two  beavers  and  two  coverlets ; 
and  whereas  both  these  offer  to  confirm  their  declaration  by  oath,  the 
W:  Court  tendered  the  oath  to  Daniel  Tourneur,  who,  having  taken 
the  same,  the  deft  was  condemned  to  pay  the  plaintiff  the  five  beavers 
which  he  promised  to  pay  for  the  hogs  in  question.1 

7  Sept.,  1660. 
Alexander  Carolus  Curtius  appears  in  Court,   acknowledging  to 
have  received  the  judgment  pronounced  against  him  in  the  matter 
between  him  and  Capt.  Jan  Jacobz,  saying  for  this  time  he  submits 
to  the  same.2 

Curtius  was  likewise  at  variance  with  the  magistrates,  as  is  indica- 
ted by  the  following : 

Extract  from  the  Register  of  Kesolutions  adopted  by  the  Honble  Lord 
Director  Genl.  and  Council  of  New  Netherland,  on  Tuesday,  25th 
May,  a0.  1660. 

*****  * 

Whereas  the  Honble  Lord  Director  General  and  Burgomasters  have 
last  year  allowed  and  ordained  the  Heer  Rector  Carolus  Curtius  to 
take  six  guilders  per  quarter,  school  money,  for  each  boy,  and  Bur- 
gomaster had,  on  these  conditions,  allowed  him  a  yearly  salary  from 
this  city  of  two  hundred  guilders ;  and  whereas  it  has  come  to  the 
burgomasters'  ears,  that  the  Heer  Rector,  of  his  own  pleasure, 
takes  one  beaver  per  quarter  from  each  boy,  which  is  contrary  to  the 
order,  burgomasters  do  therefore  hereby  give  him  warning  and  notice 
not  to  take  any  more  than  what  is  fixed  upon  by  the  Honble  Lord 
Director  General  and  burgomasters,  or  through  neglect  thereof  bur- 
gomasters shall  retain  his  yearly  stipend  which  the  Hr.  Rector  receives 
from  this  city,  and  he  shall  receive  no  further  allowance  from  this 
city.     Done  Amsterdam,  in  N.  Netherland,  the  9th  August,  1660.3 

12  July,  1661. 

Alexander  Carolus  Curtius  communicates  in  writing  the  offer  of 
his  services,  if  this  city  will  contribute  to  him  six  hundred  guilders 
a  year  in  beavers,  on  condition  of  receiving  no  contribution  from  the 
youth.     Whereupon  serves  as  marginal  order  : 

Burgomasters  and  schepens  refer  the  petition  to  the  Rt.  Honble 
Lord  Director  General  and  Council  of  New  .Netherlands 

Still  further,  he  was  unpopular  with  his  patrons : 

.  The  parents  complained  of  the  want  of  proper  discipline 
among  his  pupils,  "  who  beat  each  other  and  tore  the  clothes  from 
each  other's  backs."  He  retorted  by  saying,  "  his  hands  were  tied,  as 
some  of  the  parents  forbade  him  punishing  their  children."     The 

'  N.  Amst.  Rec,  i%  295,  296.  *N.  Amst.  Rec,  iii,  427,  428. 

3N.  Amst.  Rec,  iv,  315.  *  N.  Amst.  Rec,  iv,  505. 


nv  the  State  of  New  York.  27 

result  was,  the  school  changed  rectors.  Doctor  Cnrtius  returned  to 
Holland,  and  the  Rev.  ^Egidius  Luyck,  who  had  been  brought  over 
specially  to  superintend  the  education  of  the  Director  General's  sons, 
became  principal  of  the  High  School.1  *  *         *         * 

Director  Stuyvesant  wrote  to  the  Directors  of  the  West  India 
Company  at  Amsterdam,  July  21,  1661 : 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

What  Alexander  Carolus  Curtius,  the  Rector  or  Latin  schoolmaster, 
dismissed  by  your  Honors,  has  remonstrated  and  requested  of  us  on 

his  departure,  your  Honors  can  deduce  from  his  annexed  petition.2 

*  #  •*  *  -*  * 

No  copy  of  this  petition  of  Curtius  seems  to  have  been  preserved, 
nor  do  we  find  any  later  record  concerning  him. 

We  are  not  aware  that  any  town  on  Long  Island  had  a  school  at  an 
earlier  date  than  the  one  established  at  Midwout,  now  Flatbush. 
A  lot  for  a  village  schoolhouse  was  set  apart  by  an 

Ordinance  of  the  Director  General  and  Council  of  New  Netherland, 

authorizing  the  laying  out  of  the  village  of  Midwout.     Passed  16 

October,  1655. 

■x  #■  •*  *  *•  # 

We,  therefore,  do  hereby  authorize  said  magistrates,  StryTcer,  liege- 
man and  Swartwout,  to  lay  out  the  aforesaid  village  according  to  the 
exhibited  plan  ;  provided  that  5  a  6  lots  be  reserved  for  public  build- 
ings, such  as  for  the  Sheriff,  the  Minister,  the  Secretary,  Schoolmas- 
ter, Village  Tavern  and  public  Court  House.. 

Done  in  the  Assembly  of  the  Honble  Director  General  and  Council 
of  New  Netherlands  holden  in  Fort  Amsterdam.     Dated  as  above.3 

The  following  document  seems  to  refer  to  some  of  the  aforesaid 
lots : 

To  the  Hon.  Petrus  Stuyvesant,  and  Members  of  Council  in  New 

Netherland : 

Remonstrate  with  all  humility  and  due  reverence  the  schepens  of 
the  Court  in  Midwout — how  that  they,  remonstrants,  often  have  peti- 
tioned how  necessary  and  how  beneficial  the  four  church  lots  would 
be  to  the  village  Midwout  and  its  inhabitants,  and  how  much  it 
would  relieve  the  burthens  of  the  inhabitants — when  it  pleased  your 
Hon.  at  length  to  give  for  an  apostill — that  further  written  informa- 
tion was  required — and  in  what  manner  it  was  intended  that  the 
aforesaid  church  lots  were  to  be  administered. 

Whereon  we  think  it  proper  to  communicate  farther  the  following 
information  to  your  Hon.,  and  to  explain  this  somewhat  farther.     It 

^unshee,  p.  53.    O'Call.  K  K,  ii,  546.    Brod.,  p.  694. 

9N.  Y.  Col.  MSS.,  xiv,  290  (as  translated  by  Dr.  O'Gallaghan). 

3  O'Call.  Laws  of  N.  N.,  p.  199.    N.  Y.  Col.  MSS.,  vi,  106. 


28  Annals  of  Public  Education 

should  seem  to  us — with  submission  to  your  Hon.  better  judgment, 
that  the  best  means  were,  by  which  the  prosperity  of  the  village  of 
Midwout  and  its  inhabitants  would  be  most  efficaciously  promoted — 
as  we  will  take  the  liberty  to  explain  more  at  large. 

First,  that  25  morgen1 — situated  to  the  east — with  its  appendages 
— might  be  employed  to  repair  the  church  and  keep  it  in  a  decent 
order — this  is  lying  to  the  east  of  the  plain  and  south  of  the  road. 

Secondly,  the  other  25  morgen — lying  too  at  the  east  side  of  the* 
market,  and  at  the  north  side  of  the  road,  with  its  appurtenances 
and  privileges,  to  the  maintenance  of  a  school,  church  service,  etc., 
which,  if  it  is  approved  and  consented  by  your  Honours,  shall  be 
employpd  for  these  purposes. 

vv  #v  *7v  7v  vv  "Tv 

(Signed)  JAN  STKYCKEE, 

ADKIAEN  HEGEMAN, 

WILLEM  JACOBSE  YAN  BOEHEM. 

By  order  of  the  Schepens  of  Midwout  aforesaid. 

PIETER  TONNEMAN,  Secret,  pro  tern. 

On  this  petition  being  read  and  considered,  the  following  apostill 
was  given : 

The  two  first  points,  with  regard  to  the  lots,  are  granted  to  the 
supplicants  so  as  they  are  favored  with  these,  for  those  beneficial 
purposes,  as  were  explained  by  the  supplicants. 

Done  in  the  meeting  of  the  Director  General  and  Council,  in  Fort 
Amsterdam,  in  New  ISTetherland,  on  the  29  January,  1658.2 

That  a  school  was  actually  established  in  Midwout  as  early  as  1659, 
appears  from  the  following  paragraph : 

The  early  Dutch  settlers  .  .  .  took  measures  for  the  educa- 
tion of  their  children,  and  the  maintenance  of  suitable  schools.  Among 
the  first  records  of  the  town,  we  find  notice  of  the  employment  oi 
a  schoolmaster.  Much  care  seems  to  have  been  taken,  not  only  in 
the  selection,  but  in  the  agreements  formed  with  the  teachers  of  their 
children.  The  first  schoolmaster  of  whom  we  have  any  knowledge, 
was  Adrian  Hegeman,  .  .  .  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of 
the  town.  .  .  .  He  was  the  ancestor  .  .  .  probably  of  the 
whole  family  of  Hegemans,  now  living.  He  was  engaged  as  school- 
master from  1659  to  1671. 

From  the  records  of  the  town,  it  appears  that  the  schoolmaster 
acted  as  town  clerk ;  and  as  the  rates  of  tuition  were  low,  previously 
to  the  American  revolution,  the  offices  of  sexton,  and  "  foresinger," 
or  chorister,  of  the  church,  were  conferred  upon  him  with  a  view  to 
increase  his  emoluments.3  *  *  *  * 

The  same  author  gives  further  information  relative  to  more  recent 
periods,  which  we  reserve  for  future  articles. 

1  A  morgen  was  about  two  acres.  3  Strong's  Hist,  of  Flatbush,  pp.  108,  109. 

2  Alb.  Rec.,xiv,  73,  74,  75. 


m  the  State  of  New  York.  29 

The  following  document  refers  to  a  schoolmaster  not  mentioned  in 
Strong's  History  of  Flatbush : 

To  the  Director  General  and  Council  in  N.  Netherland : 

We,  the  subscribers,  remonstrate  with  submission — that  we  thank- 
fully received  from  our  church  a  subsidy  to  the  amount  of  y415:10, 
but  there  remain  yet  in  arrears  by  Mr.  Jacob  N.,  surgeon ....      fTX 

by  our  schoolmaster,  Reinier 32 

and  yet  by  one  barquier,  Sander  N 81 

together /190 

which  we  had  flattered  ourselves  to  pay  of  the  remnants — it  is,  how- 
ever, so,  that  by  want  of  payment,  we  must  remain  in  want.  So  that 
we  are  again  compelled  to  address  your  Hons.  and  reverently  to 
solicit  that  we  may  be  relieved  from  it.  Which  doing,  etc.  29 
March,  1661.     Midwout.     In  the  name  of  our  whole  congregation. 

JOH.  THEO.  POLHEMIUS, 
JAN  STRYCKER. 

The  following  apostill  was  given  :  As  soon  [as]  the  state  of  the 
treasury  shall  permit  it — then  to  the  supplicant  shall  by  the  Com- 
pany, in  behalf  of  the  church,  be  paid  the  half  of  the  aforesaid  sum 
by  the  Receiver.1 

The  second  school  on  Long  Island  of  which  we  find  any  record, 
was  established  at  the  English  settlement  called  Middleburg,  now 
Newtown. 

After  the  death  of  Rev.  John  Moore,  minister  of  Middleburg,  in 
1657,  his  family  were  left  in  quiet  possession  of  the  townhouse,  the 
only  public  building  in  the  place,  and  which  served,  as  occasion 
required,  the  several  purposes  of  a  church,  schoolhouse  and  parsonage. 
After  the  lapse  of  four  and  one-half  years,  during  which  period  the 
town  had  been  destitute  of  the  public  means  of  grace,  the  deficiency 
was  to  be  in  part  supplied  by  the  services  of  a  schoolmaster,  and  it 
was  expected  that  Mr.  Doughty,  who  had  married  the  widow  of  Mr. 
Moore,  would  surrender  the  premises  for  the  use  of  the  new  teacher. 
He,  however,  objected  to  this,  which  gave  rise  to  the  following  curi- 
ous memorial,  the  original  of  which  is  in  English,  and  illustrates  the 
antique  handwriting  and  orthography  of  that  period  :2 

To  the  Hon.  Lord  Stuyvesant,  Lord  General  off  the  New  Nether- 
lands, the  humble  petition  of  your  Lordship's  petitioners : 
That  whearas  God  hath  beene  pleased  off  laet  years  to  deprive  us 
of  Middleburrow,  of  Long  Island,  off  the  publyck  meanes  of  grace 
&  salvation,  and  also  of  education  of  our  children,  in  scholasticall 
discipline,  the  way  to  true  happinesse,  but  yet  God  in  mercy  of  laet 

1  Alb.  Rec,  xix,  95.  a  Riker's  Annals  of  Newtown,  pp.  4G,  49,  52. 


30  Annals  of  Public  Education 

hath  provided  for  us  a  helpe  meete  for  the  disciplyne  of  education  of 
our  children,  and  by  the  same  person  helpe  in  the  Sabath  exercyses, 
wee,  therefore,  who  never  gave  nor  consented  to  the  giveinge  orf  the 
howsinge,  and  lands,  buildt  and  fenced  in,  and  alsoo  dedicated  for  the 
use  off  the  publyck  dispensation  of  Gods  word  unto  us  wee  humbly 
intreate  your  Honorable  Lordshipe,  that  this  our  sayde  schoolmaster, 
Eichard  Mills  by  name,  may  bee  by  your  Lordships  order  possessed 
of  the  sayde  housinge  and  lands  for  his  use  and  ours  alsoo,  for  our 
childrens  education  and  the  Sabaths  exercyse,  the  which  God  doeth 
require,  and  we  have  neede  for  us  and  our  children  theroff ;  as  the 
howsinge  now  stands,  it  is  licke  all  to  goe  to  reecke  and  ruyne,  the 
fences  faellinge  downe,  the  house  and  barne  decay inge  &  wanteth 
repayre,  and  Francis  Dowtye  doeth  not  repayre  it,  nor  the  towne,  as 
it  stands  betweene  him  and  them,  wil  not  repaire  it,  and  by  this 
meanes  is  licke  to  come  to  nothing  in  a  shorte  time — and  soo  wee  and 
your  Lordship  alsoo,  by  this  meanes,  shalle  be  disappointed ;  therfore 
our  humble  request  is  to  your  Lordshipp,  is,  that  this  our  schoolmas- 
ter, and  at  present  our  souls  helpe  in  dispencinge  God's  word  to  us 
and  our  children  everye  Lords  day,  may  bee  setteled  in  it,  to  injoye 
it  without  any  molestation,  from  Francis  Doughty,  or  any  of  his,  for 
soo  longe  time  our  God  shall  bee  pleased  to  continue  him  amongst  us, 
or  to  -provyde  another  for  us,  thus  knowinge  that  your  Lordship  is  as 
willinge,  to  further  our  soules  good  as  well  as  our  bodyes — wee  rest 
your  Lordships  humble  petitioners  &  loyal  subjects.  Was  signed, 
THOMAS  HUNTE,  MARY  RYDER, 

FRANCIS  SWAYNE,        JOHN  BARCKER, 
JAMES  BRADISH,  JOHN  LAUSRIEN, 

JAMES  LAWRENSEN,    THOMAS  CORNISH, 
NICOLAS  CARTER,         SAMUEL  TOE. 

This  petition  being  presented  to  the  Director  General,  Petrus 
Stuyvesant,  the  following  apostill  was  given  upon  it : 

These  presence  doeth  requiere  and  order  Francys  Doughty,  and 
whome  it  may  concerne,  to  give  and  graunt  a  quyett  possession  unto 
the  present  schoolmaster,  Mr.  Richard  Mills,  off  the  house  and  land, 
beeinge  with  our  knowledge  consent  and  helpe,  buildt  for  the  pub- 
lyck use  off  the  ministery,  &  by  that  meanes  it  may  nor  cannot 
bee  given  and  transported  for  a  privaet  herrytadge  ;  provyded,  if  hee, 
either  his  wyfe  hath,  to  demaund  any  remaynder  of  meanes  or  wages 
of  her  deceased  husbande — Mr.  John  Moor,  laet  minister  of  the- 
aforementioned  towne — it  beeinge  made  and  by  these  presence  doeth 
order  the  magestrates  and  inhabitants  off  the  sayde  towne  to  give 
unto  the  heyrs,  what  is  due  to  them.  Actum  Amst.  in  the  N.  N. 
lands,  this  18th  of  February,  1661.  Was  signed, 

P.  STUYVESANT.1 

In  compliance  with  this  order  the  premises  were  vacated,  and  Mr. 
Richard  Mills,  the  first  schoolmaster  of  Middleburg,  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  his  vocation.2 

1 N.  Y.  Col.  MSS.,  ix,  498,  499.    Alb.  Rec,  xix,  13, 14.    Riker's  Annals,  pp.  49,  50. 
3  Riker's  Annals,  p.  50. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  31 

The  third  of  the  Long  Island  schools  seems  to  have  been  estab- 
lished at  Brooklyn.     Mr.  Stiles  says  : 

The  year  1661  will  also  be  ever  memorable  in  the  history  of 
Breuckelen  [Brooklyn]  as  having  furnished  to  the  good  people  their 
•first  schoolmaster.  On  the  4th  of  July,  1661,  the  following  petition 
was  presented : 

"  To  the  Right  IIonble Director  General  and  Council  of  New  ISTether- 

land  : 
"  The  Schout  and  schepens  of  the  Court  of  Breuckelen  -espect- 
fully  represent,  that  they  found  it  necessary  that  a  court  messenger 
was  required  for  the  Schepens'  Chamber,  to  be  occasionally  employed 
in  the  village  of  Breuckelen  and  all  around  where  he  may  be  needed, 
as  well  to  serve  summons,  as  also  to  conduct  the  service  of  the 
church,  and  to  sing  on  Sundays ;  to  take  charge  of  the  school,  dig 
graves,  etc.,  ring  the  bell,  and  perform  whatever  else  may  be  required. 
Therefore,  the  petitioners,  with  your  Honors'  approbation,  have 
thought  proper  to  accept  for  so  highly  necessary  an  office,  a  suitable 
person  who  is  now  come  before  them,  one  Carel  van  Beauvois,  to 
whom  they  have  hereby  appropriated  the  sum  of  fl  150,  besides  a 
free  dwelling ;  and  whereas,  the  petitioners  are  apprehensive  that  the 
said  C.  v.  Beauvois  would  not  and  cannot  do  the  work  for  the  sum 
aforesaid,  and  the  petitioners  are  not  able  to  promise  him  any  more, 
therefore  the  petitioners,  with  all  humble  and  proper  reverence, 
request  your  Honors  to  be  pleased  to  lend  them  a  helping  hand,  in 
order  thus  to  receive  the  needful  assistance.  Herewith,  awaiting 
your  Honors'  kind  and  favorable  answer,  and  commending  ourselves, 
honorable,  wise,  prudent  and  most  discreet  gentlemen,  to  your  favor, 
we  pray  for  your  Honors  God's  protection,  together  with  a  happy 
and  prosperous  administration  unto  salvation.  Your  Honors'  ser- 
vants and  subjects,  the  Schout  and  schepens  of  the  village  aforesaid. 
By  order  of  the  same. 

"  (Signed)  ADRIAEN  HEGEMAN,  Secretary. m 

In  answer  to  this  petition,  the  Director  and  Council  were  graci- 
ously pleased  to  say  that  they  would  "  pay  fifty  guilders,  in  wampum, 
annually,  for  the  support  of  the  precentor  (voorsanger)  and  school- 
master in  the  village  of  Breuckelen." 

Carel  de  Beauvois,  who  was  thus  commissioned  to  fulfill  the  multi- 
farious duties  of  court-messenger,  bell-ringer,  grave-digger,  chorister, 
reader,  and  schoolmaster  of  Breuckelen,  is  described  by  Riker  as  a 
"  highly  respectable  and  well-educated  French  Protestant,  who  came 
from  Leyden,  in  Holland.  .  .  .  He  arrived  at  Amsterdam,  in  the 
ship  Otter,  February  17,  1659.  .  .  .  His  literary  merits  and 
acquaintance  with  the  Dutch  language  soon  acquired  for  him  the 
situation  of  a  teacher ; "  but  in  1661,  as  we  have  seen,  his  duties  were 
enlarged  by  his  appointment  to  the  office  of  chorister  and  reader. 
He  afterward  served  as  public  secretary  or  town  clerk,  which  office 
he  held  until  1669.2 

1 N.  Y.  Col.  MSS.,  ix,  678.    Alb.  Rec,  xix,  194. 
8  Stiles'  Hist.  Brooklyn,  i,  116, 117. 


32  Annals  of  Public  Education 

A  movement  for  the  building  of  a  schoolhouse  in  New  Amsterdam 
is  indicated  by  the  following  petition,  dated  Feb.  2,  1662  : 

To  the  Noble-great  and  Respected  the  Director  General  and  Council 

in  N.  Netherland. 
Noble-great  and  Respected : 

Shew  with  all  due  reverence  to  your  Hon's,  the  burgomasters  of 
this  city,  whereas  they  supplicants  have  resolved  to  construct  a  good 
schoolhouse  for  the  benefit  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  city — for  which 
is  required  a  useful  and  proper  and  well  situated  lot — and  whereas, 
such  a  lot,  just  behind  the  house  and  lot  where  Mr.  Jacob  Vaneranger 
resides — in  the  Brewer  street — opposite  the  house  and  lot  of  Johannis 
de  Peyster  is  existing,  so  is  it  that  your  supplicants  solicit  your  Hon. 
that  it  may  please  them  to  favor  them  with  this  lot — viz — broad  along 
the  street  30  feet — and  further,  in  depth  the  half  of  its  length,  to 
employ  this  gift  for  a  similiar  purpose.  *  *  * 

Expecting  hereon  your  Hon's  favorable  disposition,  we  are  and 
remain  your  Hon's  humble  supplicants,  the  burgomasters  of  this  city 
Amsterdam,  in  N.  Netherland. 

By  order  of  the  same,  and  signed 

JOANNES  NEVIUS,  Secretary. 

On  this  petition  was  given  for  apostill : 

The  Director  General  and  Council  deem  it,  for  various  reasons, 
more  proper  that  the  schoolhouse  be  constructed  on  a  part  of  the 
present  church  yard.1  *  *  *  *  * 

There  is  no  evidence  .  .  .  that  the  schoolhouse  was  built  as 
contemplated.2 

We  have  already  quoted  a  statement  that  ^Egidius  Luyck  suc- 
ceeded Curtius  in  the  rectorship  of  the  Latin  school.  He  arrived  at 
New  Amsterdam  in  January,  1662,  being  then  twenty-one  years  of 
age.  The  following  communication  shows  his  original  purpose  in 
coming,  and  why  he  was  afterward  employed  in  a  wider  sphere  of 
instruction.  *It  will  be  borne  in  mind,  in  connection  with  these  quo- 
tations, that  the  barbarous  English  is  due  to  the  translator  of  the 
"  Albany  Records  "  (Van  der  Kemp),  whose  eminent  learning  obvi- 
ously did  not  include  the  familiarity  with  the  English  language 
requisite  for  a  translator.  As  a  teacher,  minister  and  magistrate,  Mr. 
Luyck  seems  to  have  maintained  a  good  reputation  in  New  Amster- 
dam for  some  twelve  or  more  years,  and  it  is  quite  reasonable  to  pre- 
sume that  his  formal  introduction  in  the  following  paragraphs  fails  to 
do  him  literary  justice : 

To  the  Noble  Lord  the  Director  General  and  High  Council  in  N. 

Netherland : 
Shews  with  all  humble  reverence,  that   whereas   I,  undersigned, 
called  for  the  private  instruction  of  the  Director  General's  children, 

1  Alb.  Rec,  xx,  39.  2  Dunshee,  p.  47. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  33 

aometimes  have  by  a  few  inhabitants  here,  who  saw  and  heard  the  full 
satisfaction — be  it  said  without  the  least  arrogance — of  the  aforesaid 
Hon.  Lord — upon  the  good  method  of  inculcating  the  first  principles 
of  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages,  as  in  writing,  arithmetics,  catechi- 
sing, and  honor um  morum praxis — with  respect  to  his  children — and 
even  by  his  Hon.  seriously  solicited  to  request  that  I  might  be 
employed  in  the  Rectoraturn  of  this  city — and  his  Hon.  fully 
acquainted  with  the  necessity  of  having  the  youth  in  a  now  rising 
place — and  that  several  who  in  behalf  of  their  children  submitted 
before  to  troubles  and  expenses — under  the  former  Doctor— now 
should  be  compelled  to  sacrifice  all  their  prospects,  or  at  a  yet  greater 
expense  send  their  children  to  the  Patria. 

So  his  Hon.  deemed  it  proper  to  employ  me  for  this  end,  promis- 
ing that  he  would  advise  and  recommend  it  to  the  Lord  Directors — 
so  that  a  salary  might  be  allowed  to  me. 

With  this  looking  forward  I  remained  satisfied,  returned  to  the 
school,  and  exerted  every  nerve  so  that  the  number  of  my  disciples 
was  increased  to  20 — among  whom  wTere  two  from  Virginia  and  two 
from  Fort  Orange — and  ten  or  twelve  more  from  the  two  aforesaid 
places  were  expected,  while  other  were  intended  to  board  with  me. 

But  while  I  was  waiting  with  patience  for  an  answer  from  the 
Directors,  I  nevertheless  did  not  receive  it,  without  knowing  its  cause. 

I  offer,  notwithstanding,  cheerfully  to  continue  in  my  service,  but 
solicit  most  earnestly  and  humbly  that  the  Director  General,  with  his 
High  and  Faithful  Council,  that  it  may  please  them  to  provide  me 
with  a  decent  salary,  so  as  I  cannot  doubt,  it  shall  meet  their  appro- 
bation, as  well  knowing  that  I  cannot  hire  on  the  small  payment 
which  is  received  from  the  disciples — and  as  a  laborer  deserve  his 
wages — and  if  I  might  obtain  a  favorable  resolution,  my  ardour  and 
zeal  to  acquit  myself  well  of  my  duty  must  be  of  course  increased — 
by  which  I  am  encouraged  to  remain. 

Your  Hon.  humble  and  obedient  servant, 

^EGIDIUS  LUYCK. 

Fort  Amsterdam,  in  K  Netherland,  30  July,  1663. 

The  following  apostill  was  given  by  a  majority  of  votes : 
The  supplicant  ought  first  to  address  himself  to  the  College  of  the 
Lords   Directors  of  the  Privileged  West  Indian  Company,  Depart- 
ment of  Amsterdam.     Done  at  Fort  Amsterdam,  in  N.  Netherland, 
9  Aug.,  1663.1 

Advise  of  the  Director  General  on  the  request  of  Kev.  Luyck : 
My  advise  on  the  request  of  the  Kev.  JEgidius  Luyck  is,  that  I 
condescend  to  acquiesce  in  the  majority  of  votes.  Nevertheless,  being 
of  opinion  that  the  instruction  of  the  youth,  with  well  regulated 
schools,  is  not  less  serviceable  or  less  required  than  even  church  ser- 
vice— that  the  many  proofs,  too,  of  the  supplicant's  piety,  talents  and 
diligence  in  instructing  children,  and  his  more  than  common  pro- 
gresses— which  have  been  during  five  quarters  of  a  year  such,  that 
they  far  excel  the  instructions  of  the  late  rector,  Alexander  Carolus 

'Alb.  Rec.xxi,  257,  258. 


34  Annals  of  Public  Education 

Curtius — as  will  be  attested  by  the  ministers  of  the  holy  word  of 
God,  and  other  competent  judges— to  which  ought  to  be  added,  that 
such  a  plan  is  contributing  effectually  to  increase  the  renown  of  this 
place  and  school — and  really  an  actual  advantage,  so  well  for  our 
youth  as  for  our  inhabitants,  as  by  example,  the  increase  of  the  school 
from  Virginia  and  elsewhere — for  these  and  other  reasons,  partly 
already  explained  in  that  petition,  it  would  be  my  advice,  that  afore- 
said ^Egidius  Luyek,  to  encourage  him  in  his  service,  ought  to  enjoy 
the  quality  and  salary,  which  the  Lords  Directors  of  the  Privileged 
West  Indian  Company,  Department  of  Amsterdam,  granted  to  the 
first  Latin  schoolmaster,  Alexander  Carolus  Curtius.  If  not  abso- 
lutely, at  least  with  decent  intercession  and  recommendation,  under 
the  aforesaid  Lords  Directors.  Done  in  Fort  Amsterdam,  in  N. 
Motherland,  9  Aug.,  1663.1 

To   the  Noble,   Great   and   Respectful   the  Director   General   and 
Council  in  N.  Netherland  : 

Gentlemen — With  due  respect  and  gratitude  embraces  your  Hons. 
supplicant  the  apostill  and  address  to  the  noble,  great  and  respectful 
Lords  Directors,  not  doubting,  your  Hon.  kind  recommendations  and 
intercessions  shall  obtain  the  desired  effect,  while  in  the  meantime 
your  Hons.  supplicant  finds  himself  once  more  compelled  to  address 
your  Hons.  and  to  remonstrate  with  due  respect,  that  what  your 
Hon.  prudently  referred  to  the  College  of  the  Noble  Directors  as 
Lords  and  Patrons  of  this  Province,  was  already  performed  and 
requested  in  behalf  of  the  supplicant,  a*s  evidently  appears  by  the 
letters  received  by  the  supplicant  from  his  father  and  mother,  show- 
ing that  the  proposal  of  the  Director  General  and  Council  should  be 
answered,  and  that  the  transactions  of  the  Director  General  in  this 
case  were  approved,  so  that  it — but  under  correction,  of  your  Hons. 
wiser  and  further  seeing  judgment — in  the  supplicant's  humble 
opinion  in  similar  affairs,  it  would  be  fruitless  to  address  themselves 
de  novo  to  the  aforesaid  Directors,  in  an  affair  already  left  by  them 
to  the  College  of  the  Director  General  and  Council,  and  of  which  the 
circumstances  and  necessity  must  be  better  known  to  your  Hons.  than 
to  the  aforesaid  Directors  without  any  farther  orders  or  directions 
about  it.  Therefore  renews  the  supplicant  his  humble  request,  that 
it  may  please  your  Hons.  to  appoint  and  confirm  the  supplicant,  either 
absolutely  or  provisionally,  in  the  solicited  Rectorate,  with  the 
ordinary  salary — or  to  favor  the  supplicant  with  your  Hons.  favorable 
recommendations — to  go — with  the  vessels  now  laying  ready  to  sail — 
on  a  short  trip — under  God's  guidance  to  the  Fatherlande,  to  solicit 
there  in  person,  agreeably  to  your  Hons.  apostill,  the  desired  appoint- 
ment, with  the  salary  annexed  to  it — so  as  the  common  proverb  says 
— no  better  messenger  than  the  man  himself — for  which  I  solicit 
your  Hons.  apostill  in  the  margin. 

Noble-great  and  Respectful  my  Lords, 

Your  humble  and  obedient  servant, 

^EGIDIUS  LUYCK. 

Fort  Amst.,  in  N.  Netherland,  16  Aug.,  1663.2 

J  Mb.  Rec,  xxi,  259,  ?  Alb.  Rec. ,  xxi,  2(59,  270. 


w  the  Statu  of  New  York.  35 

To  the  Noble,  Great  and  Respected,  the  Director  General  and  Coun- 
cil in  N.  Netherland : 

N.  G.  and  Respected  ! — Shew  to  your  Hons.  with  all  reverence, 
the  burgomasters  of  this  city,  Amsterdam,  in  N.  Netherland,  that 
they  have  been  informed  —  as  the  Rev.  jEgidius  Luyck  thus  far 
exerted  himself  to  instruct  the  youth — so  from  this  place  as  from 
other  places,  to  learn  the  Latin  language,  in  which,  too,  they  have 
made  considerable  progress,  to  the  full  satisfaction  of  their  parents ; 
and  whereas  the  aforesaid  Luyck,  till  this  moment,  remains  ignorant 
if  any  salary  for  his  labours  is  intended  by  your  Hons.  to  bestow 
upon  him — so  as  he  now  is  soliciting  by  his  petition  presented  this 
day ;  and  whereas,  on  your  Hons.  recommendations,  and  our  letters 
last  year  written  to  the  Directors,  the  aforesaid  Rev.  Luyck  was 
requested  to  act  here  as  schoolmaster  in  the  Latin  language,  in  lieu 
of  the  late  Rector  Curtius,  on  such  a  salary  as  should  be  allowed  to 
him  by  the  Directors — of  which  he  has  no  information  that  any  con- 
clusive step  was  made,  so  is  it  that  we,  experiencing  the  good  instruc- 
tion and  discipline  of  our  youth,  deem  ourselves  obliged  humbly  to 
solicit  your  Hons.  that  it  may  please  them  to  grant  the  supplicant  a 
favorable  disposition  on  his  written  request — with  granting  him  such 
a  salary  as  your  Hon.  in  their  wisdom  and  discretion  shall  deem 
proper.  So  that  the  supplicant's  growing  zeal — to  the  detriment  of 
your  Hons.  and  that  of  our  children — and  the  youth  of  this  city  with 
•that  sent  hither  from  other  places  may  not  be  cooled — but  rather 
daily  may  be  increased — to  the  renown  and  glory  of  this  city — by 
our  neighbors  and  other  further  remote  places — in  the  hope  that  this 
our  just  request  shall  be  maturely  considered  by  your  Hons.,  so  that 
your  Hon.  shall  favor  the  aforesaid  Luyck  with  an  ordinary  and  com- 
petent salary,  by  which  we  shall  feel  ourselves  obliged,  and  remain 
Your  obedient  subjects, 

The  Burgomasters  of  the  city  aforesaid. 
By  order  of  the  same :  JOANNES  NEYIUS, 

Secretary. 

Amsterdam,  in  N.  Netherland,  16  Aug.,  1663.1 

The  preceding  petition  being  presented  and  read,  the  following 
apostill  was  given : 

The  Director  General  and  Council  are,  with  the  supplicants,  of 
opinion  that  the  continuation  and  encouragement  of  the  Latin  school 
is  necessary — and,  as  it  is  customary  in  our  Fatherland,  that  such 
persons  by  the  cities  which  make  use  of  them  are  engaged,  so  are 
the  supplicants  authorized  by  this,  to  allow  such  a  salary  to  the  afore- 
said Rev.  Luyck  as  they  shall  deem  reasonable— of  which  salary 
Director  General  and  Council — provisionally  upon  the  approbation  /^ 
of  the  Noble  Directors  shall  pay  the  half.     16  Aug.,  1663. 

Nota :  In  virtue  of  this  authorisation,  the  burgomasters  agreed   ' 
with  the  Rev.  ^Egidius  Luyck,  that  he  shall  receive  annually,  in 
seewant  [wampum],  a  8  for  a  st.  thousand  gl.,  [1,000  guilders =$400], 
of  which  the  Company  shall  pay  the  half.2 

5  Alb.  Bee.,  xxi,  271,  27$,  2  Alb.  Rec,  xxi,  273. 


36  Annals  of  Public  Education 

We  are  indebted  to  Henry  Onderdonk,  Jr.,  of  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  for 
the  following  item,  with  various  others  hereafter  quoted : 

Jonas  Houldsworth  was  clerk  of  Hempstead,  and  schoolmaster,  in 
1662.  He  was  also  a  teacher  at  Southampton,  and,  I  think,  at  Hunt- 
ington.    His  name  may  be  seen  in  Thompson's  L.  I. 

The  employment  of  a  schoolmaster  in  Bushwyck  is  recorded  in  the 
Council  minutes,  under  date  of  Dec.  20,  1663 : 

Appeared  in  Council,  the  Commissaries  of  the  village  of  Bush- 
wyck, notifying  how  that  they  in  their  village  were  in  great  want  of 
a  person  who  would  act  as  clerk  (voorleser)  and  schoolmaster,  to 
instruct  the  youth;  and  whereas  there  was  proposed  to  them  the 
person  of  Boudewyn  Maenhout,  from  Grampen  de  Zek,1  that  they 
had  agreed  with  him,  viz. :  that  he  should  officiate  as  clerk  {voorleser), 
and  keep  school  for  the  instruction  of  the  youth — for  which  he.should 
receive  f  ^00  in  seawant,  annually,  besides  free  house  rent — they 
solicited  therefore,  that  this  transaction  might  be  approved  by  the 
Director  General  and  Council  in  N.  Netherland,  and  that  the  Com- 
pany would  contribute  annually  something  to  facilitate  the  payment 
of  said  salary. 

Which  being  taken  in  consideration  by  the  Director  General  and 
Council  in  N.  Netherland,  the  engagement  of  the  person  and  the 
agreement  with  the  aforesaid  Boudewyn  Maenhout  is  hereby 
approved,  provided  that  he  shall  previously  be  examined  by  the  Rev. 
Ministers  of  this  city,  and  if  they  deem  him  competent  for  the  task, 
then  shall  annually  be  paid  by  the  Company,  to  render  it  more  easy 
to  aforesaid  village  to  pay  that  salary,  to  the  aforesaid  Boudewyn, 
^25  heavy  money. 

Done  in  Fort  Amsterdam,  in  N.  Netherland,  on  the  day  as  above.2 

The  village  of  Bergen,  now  of  New  Jersey,  but  formerly  included 
within  the  limits  of  New  Netherland,  seems  to  have  had  a  school  as 
early  as  1661  or  1662,  as  appears  from  the  following  petition : 
To  the  Director  General  and  Council  residing  in  N.  Netherland : 

Shew  reverently,  the  Sheriff  and  Commissaries  of  the  village  of 
Bergen,  which  they  presume,  is  known  to  your  Honours,  that  before 
the  election  of  the  Commissaries,  ye  were  solicited  for  Michiel  Jan- 
sen,  deceased,  to  be  favored  with  the  appointment  of  a  clerk  (voorleser), 
who  should  at  the  same  time  keep  school,  to  instruct  the  youth,  the 
person  of  Engelbert  Steenhuysen,  who  possessed  the  requisite  abili- 
ties, so  is  it  that  the  Sheriff  and  Commissaries  now  a  year  past  pro- 
posed it  to  the  community,  who  then  approved  it,  and  resolved  to 
engage  him  not  only  as  clerk  (vooi'leser),  but  with  the  express  stipu- 
lation that  he,  besides  this  function,  was  to  keep  school,  which  the 
aforesaid  Steenhuysen  engaged  to  do,  and  did  so  during  live  quarters 

1  A  village  in  the  Province  of  Holland  on  the  river  de  Lek  ;  there  is  another  on 
the  Menzo.    ( Van  der  Kemp.) 

2  Alb.  Rec.,  xx,  297. 


IN  THE  8 TATE   OF  NEW   YORK.  37 

of  a  year — for  which  was  allowed  him/*  250  in  seawant,  annually — 
besides  some  other  stipulations — besides  the  school-money — so  as 
reason  and  equity  shall  demand — Now  is  it  so,  that  the  aforesaid 
Engelbert  Steenhuysen,  whereas  he  has  a  lot  and  house,  and  a  double 
farm,  situated  in  the  jurisdiction  of  the  village  of  Bergen,  is,  by  the 
complaints  of  the  majority  of  the  community,  obliged,  with  the  other 
inhabitants,  to  provide  for  the  sustenance  of  a  soldier,  by  which  the 
aforesaid  Engelbert  Steenhuysen  considers  himself  highly  aggrieved, 
and  so  resigned  his  office,  pretending  that  a  schoolmaster  and  clerk 
ought  to  be  exempted  from  all  taxes  and  burthens  of  the  village — 
which  he  says  is  the  common  practice  through  the  whole  Christian 
world — which,  by  the  Sheriff  and  Commissaries,  is  understood  can 
only  take  place  when  such  a  clerk  or  schoolmaster  does  not  possess 
anything  else  but  the  school-wharf  [lot] — but  by  no  means — when  as 
a  schoolmaster  in  possession  of  a  house  and  lot,  and  a  double  farm — 
that  he,  in  such  a  case,  should  pay  nothing  from  his  lot  and  lands — 
and  the  community  at  large  is  of  the  same  opinion,  as  he  receives  his 
salary  as  clerk,  and  not  only  is  obliged — to  act  well  in  his  capacity  as 
clerk  (voorleser),  but  even  to  look  out  and  procure  himself  a  proper 
and  convenient  place  to  keep  school,  which  he  tlius  far  neglected,  and 
pretends  that  the  community  must  effect  this,  so  that  he  may  keep 
his  school  in  it.  They  cannot  perceive  how  Engelbart  Steenhuysen 
can  be  permitted  to  resign  his  office,  when  he  neglected  to  notify  his 
intention  a  half  year  before — wherefore  the  supplicants  address  them- 
selves to  your  Hon.,  humbly  soliciting  fhem  to  insinuate  to  the  afore- 
said Engelbart  Steenhuysen  to  continue  in  his  service  this  second 
year — and  to  decline,  if  the  aforesaid  Engelbart  Steenhuysen  is  or  is 
not  obliged,  by  his  possession  of  a  lot  and  farm,  to  provide  in  the 
maintenance  of  a  soldier,  so  well  as  the  other  inhabitants.  Expecting 
upon  this  your  Hon.  resolution,  which  doing,  remain  your  Hon.  s't. 

TIELMAN  YAN  YLEECK. 
CASPER  STEINMETS. 
17  December  [1663.] 

The  Sheriff,  Commissaries  and  Engelbart  Steenhuysen,  mentioned 
in  this  petition,  being  summoned  to  appear  before  the  Council,  and 
being  heard,  parties  at  length,  after  many  discussions,  agreed  that 
Engelbart  Steenhuysen  shall  serve  his  time,  agreeably  to  the  contract 
mentioned  in  said  petition,  so  as  he  ought  to  do.1 

The  employment  of  Johannis  la  Montagne,  jun.  (probably  the  per- 
son who  served  in  the  City  Tavern  in  1662),  as  schoolmaster  at  (New) 
Haerlem,  is  recorded  as  follows : 

To  the  Noble,  Great  and  Respected  Lords,  the  Director  General  and 

Council  in  New  Netherland : 

Gentlemen  ! — With  reverence  and  due  submission  shew  your  noble, 
great  and  respectful  supplicants,  subjects  residing  at  N.  Haerlem 
.     .     .     .     having  seen   and  experienced,  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath, 

1  Alb.  Rec,  xxi,  439,  440. 


38  Annals  of  Public  Education 

the  small  success  of  the  public  congregation,  and  fully  believing  that 
better  care  might  be  taken  of  the  interests  of  religion,  and  the  whole 
worship  with  more  decency  performed,  if  a  clerk  and  schoolmaster 
on  a  fixed  salary  could  be  engaged,  so  that  the  word  of  God  might  be 
heard,  an  edifying  sermon  read,  catechising  introduced,  and  the  sick  be 
visited,  it  seemed,  therefore,  to  the  supplicants  of  your  Hons.,  whose 
office  is  to  attend  to  the  common  welfare  and  advantages  of  aforesaid 
village  .  .  .  to  be  their  duty  to  speak  with  the  congregation  on 
this  subject,  and  to  endeavor  to  persuade  Jean  de  la  Montague,  an 
inhabitant  of  that  place,  to  save  expence,  that  he  would  accept  this 
office — by  permission — wherefore  they  deemed  it  proper  to  address 
your  Hon.  as  the  patrons  of  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  humbly 
.  .  .  .  to  solicit  that  it  might  please  them  to  consent,  both  to  the 
establishment  of  that  office  and  the  appointment  of  said  person  for 
the  benefit  of  the  church  of  God,  and  the  not  less  necessary  instruc- 
tion of  the  children — but  considering  .  .  .  their  present  utter 
inability  to  provide  a  competent  and  decent  salary,  and  that  it  was 
not. in  their  power  to  collect  more  for  his  sustenence  than  24  schejpel 
corn,  they  are  now  most  reverently  soliciting  that  it  may  please  your 
Hon.  agreeably  to  their  usual  discretion,  to  contribute  something  for 
a  decent  salary  and  the  better  encouragement  of 

Your  humble  supplicants  and  subjects     .     .     . 
TEUKNEUK, 

JOHANNES  VEKVEELEN. 
This  is  I.  P.  the  mark  of  JAN  PIETEES. 
Done  in  N.  Haerlem,  25  December,  1663.1 

[In  Council],  10  January  [1664]. 
Presented  and  read  the  preceding  petition  of  the  Commissaries  of 
N.  Haerlem,  and  heard  the  verbal  information  of  Mr.  Johannis  Ver- 
veelen,  now  one  of  the  Commissaries,  that  it  is  highly  necessary  that 
some  person  be  appointed  there  as  schoolmaster  and  clerk,  so  is  it, 
that  Director  General  and  Council  accept  for  this  purpose  the  pro- 
posed person  of  Johannis  la  Montagne,  junior — and  that  he  may 
officiate  in  both  these  offices  with  greater  diligence,  so  shall  be  annu- 
ally paid  to  him  by  the  Company,  the  sum  of  fifty  gl.  at  the  rate  of 
the  Company's  treasury.2 

On  the  17th  day  of  March,  the  Director  General  and  Council 
issued  an  edict,  requiring  the  practice  of  a  custom  long  known  in  the 
fatherland,    .    .    .    to  wit :"  the  public  catechising  of  the  children."3 

The  first  civil  ordinance  in  New  Amsterdam  enjoining  this  prac- 
tice, was  as  follows : 

1  Alb.  Rec,  xxii,  9,  10.  3  Dunshee,  p.  47. 

2  Alb.  Rec,  xxii,  11. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  39 

Ordinance 
Of  the  Director  General  and  Council  of  New  Netherland,  for  the 

better  and  more  careful  instruction  of  youth  in  the  principles  of  the 

Christian  religion.     Passed  17  March,  1664. 

Whereas,  it  is  most  highly  necessary  and  most  important  that  the 
youth  from  childhood  up  be  instructed  not  only  in  reading,  writing 
and  arithmetic,  but  especially  and  chiefly  in  the  principles  and  funda- 
mentals of  the  Reformed  religion,  according  to  the  lesson  of  that  wise 
King,  Solomon — Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  shall  go,  and  when 
he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it — so  that  in  time  such  men  may 
proceed  therefrom,  as  may  be  fit  to  serve  their  Fatherland  as  well  in 
the  Church  as  in  the  State.  This,  then,  being  taken  into  particular 
consideration  by  the  Director  General  and  Council  of  New  Nether- 
land, because  the  number  of  children  is,  through  the  merciful  blessing 
of  the  Lord,  considerably  increasing  here,  they  have  deemed  it  neces- 
sary, in  order  that  so  useful  and  God-acceptable  a  work  may  be  the  more 
effectually  promoted,  to  recommend  and  command  the  Schoolmasters,1 
as  we  do  hereby,  that  they  shall  appear  in  the  Church,  with  the  chil- 
dren committed  to  their  care  and  intrusted  to  them,  on  Wednesday 
before  the  commencement  of  the  Sermon,  in  order,  after  the  conclu- 
sion of  Divine  service,  that  each  may,  in  the  presence  of  the  Reverend 
Ministers  and  the  Elders  who  may  be  present,  examine  his  scholars  as 
to  what  they  have  committed  to  memory  of  the  Christian  command- 
ments and  Catechism,  and  what  progress  they  have  made ;  after  which 
performance,  the  children  shall  be  dismissed  for  that  day,  and  allowed 
a  decent  recreation. 

Done,  Fort  Amsterdam  in  New  Netherland,  dated  as  above.2 

The  following  extracts  from  the  official  records  of  Southampton, 
L.  I.,  have  been  furnished  by  Mr.  William  S.  Pelletreau,  of  that  town : 

1663,  Sept.  22. — At  a  town  meeting,  "By  ye  major  vote  it  is 
ordered  and  concluded  that  Jonas  Houldsworth  shall  have  35 lb8.  for 
his  schooling  per  annum,  for  the  term  of  three  years  at  least,  and  his 
pay  to  be  answerable  to  ye  pay  engaged  to  him  by  Hempstead,  with 
ye  allowance  of  12  days  in  the  yeare  for  his  oune  particular  occasions." 

1664,  Sept.  5. — At  a  town  meeting  it  is  ordered  that  there  shall  be 
a  schoolhouse  of  20  feet  long  and  15  feet  wide,  built  at  the  town's 
charge  and  finished  fit  for  use  before  winter. 

Mr.  Pietersen,  who  was  employed  in  1661,  as  the  sixth  official 
schoolmaster  in  New  Amsterdam,  continued  to  serve  in  that  capacity 
until  at  least  1668  or  1669.  The  following  items  are  taken  from  the 
New  Amsterdam  Records : 

Tuesday,  11  Octob.,  1664.    In  the  City  Hall. 
*  *  #■  #■  *  * 

Mr.  Evert  Pietersen,  schoolmaster  of  this  city,  represents,  as  his 
allowance  from  the  Company  is  struck  off,  that  burgomasters  and 

1  These  were  Pietersen  and  Hoboocken.    Dunshee,  p.  48. 

2N.  Y.  Col.  MSS.,  x,  pt.  iii,  101.    O'Call.  Laws  of  N.  N.,  461.    Alb.  Rec,  xxii,  100. 


40  Annals  of  Public  Education 

schepens  shall  be  pleased  to  keep  him  at  the  same  allowance ;  to  wit : 
JIS6  per  month,  ^125  for  board,  Hollands  currency,  free  house  for 
school  and  residence,  and  free  passage  to  Patria  ;  offering  his  service 
and  to  continue  the  same. 

Apostille : — Petitioner  shall  have  to  be  patient  for  the  space  of 
eight  days,  when  his  petition  shall  be  disposed  of.1         *  *         * 

No  attention  seems  to  have  been  given  to  this  petition  at  the  time 
designated,  perhaps  on  account  of  the  pending  troubles,  resulting, 
a  few  days  later,  in  the  surrender  of  New  Netherland  to  the  English. 
The  Burgomasters'  and  Schepens'  Court  was  continued,  however,  as 
appears  from  the  records  thereof,  until  November  10,  1774.  From 
these  records  we  copy  further  facts  in  regard  to  schools,  as  follows : 

Sept.  19,  1665. 

The  petition  of  Mr.  Evert  Pietersen,  schoolmaster  and  precentor  of 
this  city,  being  read  &  considered,  requesting  that  lie  may  have  some 
proper  fixed  salarium,  as  he  was  heretofore  paid  bis  wages  by  the 
Honble  Company,  and  has  been  continued  in  his  employment  Iron, 
that  time  to  the  present. 

Is  apostilled  as  followeth  : — Whereas  order  shall  be  shortly  made 
relative  to  the  salary  of  the  ministers  of  this  city,  under  which  the 
precentorship  also  comes,  proper  order  shall  then  be  made  herein 
likewise.2 

8  May,  1666. 

Capt.  Steynmets  entering  demands  payment  of  a  year's  rent  of  his 
house,  hired  to  the  city  as  a  city  school,  due  on  the  first  of  this  month  ; 
amounting  to  the  sum  of  J1260. 

Petitioner  is  requested  to  wait  yet  a  while,  as  there  is  at  present  no 
money  in  the  chest.8 

Feb.  16,  166f. 

Evert  Pietersen,  schoolmaster  and  precentor,  appearing  and  deliver- 
ing an  ac.  of  earned  salary  wch  he  claims  from  the  city,  requests  pay- 
ment and  further  allowance  for  his  future  services :  If  not,  says  he 
will  leave. 

Eesolved  to  speak  to  the  Governor  hereupon.4 

SCHOOLMASTEES  IN  NEW  NETHERLAND. 
As  the  foregoing  "Annals"  have  been  arranged  chiefly  with 
reference  to  the  chronological  order  of  the  events  narrated,  we  have 
thus  far  omitted  many  interesting  personal  facts  which  it  is  now  pro- 
posed to  present  in  the  form  of  biographical  notices,  the  whole  com- 
prising (with  the  facts  contained  in  the  "  Annals  ")  all  that  we  know 
of  the  several  schoolmasters  of  New  Netherland. 

1 N.  Amst.  Rec.,  v,  606.  8  N.  Amst.  Rec,  [vi],  178. 

•  N.  Amst.  Rec,  [vi],  73.  4  N.  Amst.  Rec.,  [vi],  436. 


in  the  Statu  of  New  York.  41 

OFFICIAL  SCHOOLMASTERS. 

Adam  Koelantsen,  "  The  First  Schoolmaster."  1633-1639. 
Nothing  is  known  of  Roelantsen  prior  to  1633,  except  that  he  was 
born  about  the  year  1606,1  and  that  he  is  several  times  mentioned  as 
"  from  Dockum,"  a  city  in  the  northern  part  of  Holland,  and  once 
as  "  van  [from]  Hamelwaard."  There  are  a  few  documents  in  which 
he  is  mentioned  as  "  schoolmaster  "  or  "  late  schoolmaster  "  in  New 
Amsterdam ;  from  all  of  which  it  is  presumed  that  he  followed  this 
vocation  from  1633  to  1639.  He  is  more  frequently  mentioned  in 
connection  with  court  proceedings  and  business  transations,  at  various 
times  between  1638  and  1653,  after  which  latter  date  we  find  no 
mention  of  the  name  Roelantsen.  From  the  character  of  the  suits, 
some  fifteen  in  number,  in  which  he  was  engaged,  sometimes  as  plain- 
tiff and  sometimes  as  defendant,  with  alternations  of  success  and 
defeat,  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  he  was  at  times  imprudent  and 
passionate  in  hi&  language,  easily  provoked  to  quarrel  with  his  neigh- 
bors, and  guilty,  in  at  least  one  instance,  of  unchaste  demeanor.  He 
was  also  either  plaintiff  or  defendant  in  at  least  five  slander  suits, 
in  one  of  which  he  was  made  to  acknowledge  that  his  antagonist 
was  an  honest  man,  while  in  another  both  parties  were  fined  thirty- 
five  stivers  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor.  Three  of  these  slander 
suits  were  in  1638  and  the  early  part  of  1639,  and  may.  have  been 
the  occasion  of  his  abandonment  of  teaching,  and  of  his  temporary 
emigration  from  New  Amsterdam  to  the  colonie  of  Eenselaers- 
wyck,  where,  in  1639,  his  name  was  enrolled  as  a  settler.  He  soon 
reappears  at  New  Amsterdam,  where  he  incurred  a  second  fine 
for  slander,  and  also  sued  two  of  his  neighbors ;  one  for  a  washing 
bill,  another  for  trespass  in  the  case  of  damage  done  by  cattle. 
These  events  occurred  in  1640  and  1641.  In  1642,  he  employed  a 
carpenter  to  build  a  house  according  to  a  contract  which  is  still  on 
record.  He  likewise  executed  the  deed  of  a  house  and  lot,  evidently 
of  little  value,  as  it  was  occupied  at  the  time  by  the  Company's 
negroes.  He  was  "  weighmaster  "  in  1643,  and  obtained  the  patent 
of  a  lot  in  New  Amsterdam.  The  baptism  of  two  of  his  children  is 
thus  recorded : 

Tryntje,  June  2,  1641. 
Daniel,  Feb.  3,  1644.2 

Nothing  further  is  recorded  of  him  until  1646,  when  he  was  left 
with  four  motherless  children,  for  the  management  of  whom,  together 

1  N.  Y.  Col.  M8S.,  i,  50.  9  Valentiners  Manual,  18G3,  p.  80G. 


42  Annals  of  Public  Education 

with  the  property  of  the  late  Mrs.  Eoelantsen  (Lyntje  Martens),  four 
curators  were  appointed,  one  being  "  Jan  Stevensen,  schoolmaster." 
In  July  of  the  same  year  he  had  two  more  law-suits,  one  of  which 
was  for  slander.  During  the  months  of  August,  September  and  Octo- 
ber he  seems  to  have  visited  Holland,  and  on  his  return  was  sued  for 
the  passage  money  of  himself  and  his  son.  His  successful  plea  in 
defence  was,  that  he  worked  his  passage  as  a  sailor,  and  that  his  son 
said  the  prayers.  A  contract  for  lumber,  and  the  deed  of  a  house  and 
lot  on  Manhattan  Island,  are  recorded  as  business  transactions  of  the 
same  autumn.  On  the  17th  of  December,  he  was  convicted  of  adulte- 
rous conduct,  and  sentenced  to  be  publicly  flogged,  and  then  banished ; 
but  in  consideration  of  his  children  and  the  wintry  season,  the  execu- 
tion of  the  sentence  was  postponed,  and  was  not  finally  enforced.  In 
1647,  "  he  was  thrown  out  of  the  tavern  by  order  of  fiscal  Yan  Dyck  ;" 
was  appointed  provost ;  and  gained  his  cause  in  an  action  for  debt 
against  the  sheriff  of  Breuekelen  (Brooklyn).  In  1649,  one  Jan  Appel 
was  authorized  by  power  of  attorney  to  receive  a  lot  of  beavers  from 
Jan  Flodder  and  Adam  Roelansten.  In  1653,  he  was  a  private  in 
the  Burgher  corps  of  New  Amsterdam,  and,  like  Curtius,  closed  his 
record  with  a  law-suit  respecting  pork.  What  further  befell  either 
himself  or  his  children  does  not  appear. 

The  foregoing  facts  may  be  verified  and  more  fully  investigated  by 
reference  to  O'Callaghan's  "  Calendar  of  Dutch  Manuscripts "  and 
"  Register  of  New  Netherland  ;"  the  New  Amsterdam  Records,  and 
Valentine's  Manual  for  1863,  pp.  559-561. 

Jan  Stevensen.     1643-1648. 

It  has  been  supposed  that  Stevensen  kept  a  private  school,  and 
if  so,  he  is  probably  the  first  one  of  this  class  of  whom  any  record 
occurs.  The  earliest  mention  of  him,  so  far  as  we  have  observed, 
is  under  date  of  July  3,  1643,  at  which  time  a  patent  was  granted 
to  "  Jan  Stevensen,  schoolmaster,  of  a  lot  north  of  Fort  Amster- 
dam, for  a  house  and  garden."1  As  already  stated  in  connection 
with  Roelantsen,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  curators  of  Mrs. 
Roelantsen's  children  and  estate,  March  9,  1646,  being  then  desig- 
nated as  "  schoolmaster." 2  On  the  20th  of  July,  1647,  a  power  of 
attorney  was  given  by  "Jan  Stevensen,  schoolmaster,  to  Luycas 
Smith,  to  receive  certain  moneys  from  the  W.  I.  Company  at  Amster- 
dam," 3  and  on  the  31st  of  August,  1646,  a  similar  power  was  given 
to  Stevensen  himself  by  one  Schut,4  from  which  we  infer  that  he  went 

1  Cal.  Dutch  MSB.,  p.  367.  3  Cal.  Dutch  MSS.,  p.'  38. 

2  Cal.  Dutch  MSS.,  p.  99.  4  Cal.  Dutch  MSS.,  p.  43. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  43 

to  Holland  about  this  time.  This  inference  seems  to  be  confirmed 
by  the  fact  that,  on  the  26th  of  October  following,  Peter  van  der 
Linde  was  appointed  clerk  of  the  church  (voorleser)  vice  Steven- 
sen  j1  and  further,  by  a  statement  made  on  the  13th  of  August,  1649, 
chat  "  Jan  Stevensen,  late  schoolmaster  at  New  Amsterdam,  sold  a 
house  and  garden  north  of  the  fort."2 

In  view  of  the  foregoing  facts,  it  seems  almost  certain  that  Steven- 
sen  was  an  official  instead  of  &  private  schoolmaster,  and  that  he  is 
the  one  referred  to  in  Stuyvesant's  communication  to  the  "  Nine  Men," 
dated  November  14,  1647  (see  p.  7).  If  this  be  so,  he  probably 
officiated  during  the  long  interval  between  Roelantsen  and  Cornelissen, 
and  is  entitled  to  rank  as  the  second  official  schoolmaster  in  New 
Amsterdam. 

Jan  Cornelissen.     164(?)-1650. 

Very  little  is  positively  known  in  regard  to  the  life  and  character  of 
this  schoolmaster,  or  the  period  of  his  service  in  this  vocation.  As  a 
family  name,  Cornelissen  frequently  occurs  in  the  colonial  records, 
and  there  evidently  were  two  or  more  of  them  bearing  the  Christian 
name  Jan.  A  carpenter  by  this  name  settled  in  Renselaerswyck  in 
1635,  and  was  employed  by  Arendt  van  Curler  to  build  a  house  in 
1643.3  This  was  doubtless  a  very  different  person  from  the  school- 
master, who  was  probably  identical  with  one  said  to  come  "  from 
Hoorn,"  and  who,  in  1647,  executed  a  power  of  attorney  to  a  certain 
person  to  receive  money  from  his  (Cornelissen's)  guardian  in  Hol- 
land.4 Deeds  of  two  lots  in  New  Amsterdam  were  given  by  the  same 
person,  in  the  year  1653.5  In  1658,  "  Rutgert  Jansen  was  beaten  by 
Jan  Cornelissen,  so  that  the  blood  flowed."  It  appeared  in  court  that 
abusive  words  passed  between  the  parties,  and  both  were  fined ;  Cor- 
nelissen, twelve  guilders,  the  other,  six.6  In  1660,  Jan  Cornelissen, 
"  the  Zealander,"  had  a  law-suit  with  Pieter  Janzen,  about  a  road 
across  land  sold  to  the  former.7  The  next  year  (1661),  Jan  Cornel- 
issen was  appointed  one  of  the  three  magistrates  of  Bushwyck,8  and 
in  1674,  a  person  of  the  same  name  was  plaintiff  in  a  suit  in  New 
Amsterdam,  which  ended  in  an  amicable  settlement.9  It  is  possible 
that  all  these  facts,  excepting  that  respecting  "  the  carpenter,"  refer 
to  "  the  schoolmaster,"  though  this  cognomen  is  not  associated  with 
the  name  in  any  of  the  records  here  cited. 

1  Cal.  Dutch  MSS.,  p.  121.  6N.  Amst.  Rec,  iii,  64,  65. 

2  Cal.  Dutch  MSS.,  p.  21.  7  K  Amst.  Rec,  iv,  162, 194. 

'  O'Call.  Hist.  N.  N.,  i,  435,  458.  8  O'Call.  N.  K,  ii,  430.    Brod.  N.  Y.,  p. 

4  Cal.  Dutch  MSS.,  p.  40.  09:]. 

6  Cal.  Dutch  MSS.,  p.  377.  ftN.  Amst.  Rec,  vii,  117. 


44  Annals  of  Public  Education 

It  is  proper  to  add,  that  several  members  of  other  families  seem  to 
have  been  christened  "  Jan  Cornelissen,"  and  that  one  such  person,  a 
son  of  Cornelis  Jansen,  is  referred  to  in  the  Index  to  the  Calendar  of 
Dutch  Manuscripts,  and  in  the  body  of  that  work,  under  the  name 
Cornelissen. 

William  Verstius.     1650-1655. 

Nothing  appears  on  record  in  regard  to  Mr.  Verstius,  so  far  as  we 
have  observed,  beyond  the  facts  stated  in  the  foregoing  "Annals  " 
(pp.  10,  12,  13). 

Johannes  de  la  Montagne,   Junr,   New  Amsterdam,   1652; 

Haerlem,  1663. 

Dr.  Johannes  de  la  Montagne,  senior,  was  born  in  1592,  and  came 
to  New  Netherland  in  1637.  By  his  first  wife,  Rachel  Monjour,  he 
had  four  children,  of  whom  Johannes,  or  Jan,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  the  eldest.  Jan  was  twice  married ;  first  to  Petronella 
Pickoll,  by  whom  he  had  a  son  named  Yincent,  who  attained  the 
remarkable  age  of  one  hundred  and  sixteen  years,  and  is  the  ancestor 
of  all  the  La  Montagne  family  in  these  States;  and  afterwards  to 
Maria  Vermilyea,  whose  three  sons  were  named  Abraham,  Isaac  and 
Johannes.  There  were,  therefore,  three  generations  bearing  the 
characteristic  name  of  Johannes  [or  Jan].  The  second  Jan,  the 
schoolmaster,  Jinown  as  "junior,"  was  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of 
Haerlem,  on  Manhattan  Island.1  He  also  held  the  following  offices 
under  the  colonial  government,  in  addition  to  that  of  schoolmaster : 
clerk  in  bookkeeper's  office,  prior  to  1655;  farmer  of  the  revenue 
(tavern  excise),  New  Amsterdam  and  Long  Island,  1657-8 ;  fire- 
warden, New  Amsterdam,  1658;  schoutfiscal  (sheriff),  Haerlem, 
1661 ;  magistrate,  Haerlem,  1662, 1663.2  Judge  Benson's  "  Memoir," 
read  before  the  New  York  Historical  Society  in  1816,  gives  a  num- 
ber of  interesting  reminiscences  of  the  family  (pp.  32-34). 

Harmen  van  Hoboocken.     1655-1664. 

In  addition  to  the  facts  already  given,  we  have  ascertained  that 
Hoboocken  lost  his  wife  about  the  year  1656 ;  married  Marritje  Pie- 
ters,  a  widow,  Oct.  26,  1662,  and  that  he  had  children  baptized  as 
follows : 

Emmetje,  Feb.  12,  1655. 

Johannes,  Nov.  12, 1656. 

Hendrickje,  May  28,  1664:.8 

1  O'Call.  N.  NM  ii,  21.  8  Val.  Man.,  1862,  p.  640 ;  1863,  pp.  564,  824. 

aO'Call  Keg.  N.  N.,  pp.  26,  34,  41,  96,  97,  113. 


in  the  State  of  New 

Evert  Pietersen.  1661-1668  (?)? 
We  learn,  in  regard  to  Pietersen,  that  he  was  made  executor  of 
Domine  Welius,  July  12,  1661,1  and  married  Aillegond  Joris,  a 
widow,  for  his  second  wife,  June  16, 1669.2  He  resided  on  the  south 
side  of  Brewer  (now  Stone)  street,3  and  his  estate  was  assessed  at 
/2,000,  in  1674.4 

Alexander  Carolus  Curtius,  First  Latin  Schoolmaster.    1659-1662. 
We  find  nothing  respecting  Curtius,  beyond  the  extended  state- 
ment in  the  foregoing  "Annals "  (pp.  22-27). 

^Egiditjs  Ltjyck,  Second  Latin  Schoolmaster.     1662-1664. 

JEgidius  Luyck  came  to  New  Amsterdam  in  January,  1662,  for 
the  purpose  of  instructing  the  sons  of  Director  Stuyvesant.  He  was 
then  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and,  though  young,  bore  the  title  of 
domine,  or  reverend ;  but  he  was  merely  a  theological  student  at  that 
time.  Upon  his  arrival  here,  he  took  charge  of  the  Latin  school, 
established  three  years  before,  and  which  had  been  up  to  this  time 
under  the  care  of  Alexander  Carolus  Curtius.  At  the  time  of  the 
capitulation,  which  occurred  in  October,  1664,  he  took  the  oath  of 
allegiance  to  the  English.5  In  1665  he  visited  Holland  in  company 
with  Director  Stuyvesant,  who  went  there  to  vindicate  his  course  in 
giving  up  New  Amsterdam  to  the  English  without  resistance,  and  / 
while  there  gave  testimony  at  different  times  on  the  subject.  Luyck 
returned  to  New  Amsterdam,6  and  in  December,  1671,  was  invited  to 
perform  service  on  Sabbath  evenings,  on  account  of  the  sickness  of 
Domine  Drisius,  he  (Luyck)  having  already  officiated  several  times 
acceptably.7  He  was  a  burgomaster  in  1674,  and  was  possessed  of 
considerable  property,  being  assessed  at  j#5,000  in  a  tax  list  dated 
New  Orange,  19th  February,  1674,  signed  by  himself,  among  others, 
as  one  of  the  commissaries.8  He  was  plaintiff  in  a  law-suit  about  this 
time,  and  obtained  judgment  for  gl652,  or^l58.9 

As  burgomaster,  he  signed  the  articles  of  capitulation  at  the  recap- 
ture of  the  city  in  1674.  When,  on  the  final  restoration  of  the 
colony  to  the  English,  the  inhabitants  were  required  to  take  the  oath 

1 N.  Amst.  Rec,  iv,  558.  6N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  ii,  469. 

3  Val.  Man.,  1862,  p.  618.  7  N.  Amst.  Rec,  vi,  653. 

8Val.  Hist,  of  N.  Y.,  pp.  115,  120,  325.    8  Alb.  Rec,  xxii,  406;  xxiii,  182,  183;  see, 

4  Alb.  Rec,  xxii,  406.  also,  xiv,  74. 

6N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  iii,  75.  9N.  Amst.  Rec,  vii,  175,220,225,  229,  230. 


46  Annals  of  Public  Education 

of  allegiance  to  the  new  government,  Luyck,  with  others,  refused  to 
do  so,1  and  soon  after  left  the  country,  finally,  for  the  fatherland.2 

In  December,  1663,  Luyck  was  married  to  Judith  Isendoorn,  who 
has  generally  been  supposed  to  have  been  connected  with  the  Stuy- 
vesant  family,  but  whom  recent  investigations  prove  to  have  been 
only  a  namesake  of  another  person  thus  connected.  Domine  Selyns, 
who  was  gifted  with  considerable  poetic  talent,  invoked  the  muses  at 
this  marriage  festival,  which  has  been  classed  among  the  notable  ones 
of  that  early  period.3  We  are  indebted  to  a  volume  of  the  "  Brad- 
ford Club  Series,"  entitled  "  Anthology  of  New  Netherland,"  by  the 
Hon.  Henry  C.  Murphy,  for  the  following  elegant  version  of  Selyns' 
Nuptial  Song,  which  furnishes  a  pleasing  episode  to  our  narrative  : 

NUPTIAL  SONG 

For  ^EGiDros  Luyck  and  Judith  Van  Isendoorn,  Married  the  second  day  of 

Christmas. 

Air — 0  GhHstmas  Night. 

1.  O,  Christmas  night !  day's  light  transcending ; — 
Who  no  beginning  had  or  ending 

Until  He  man  became,  was  God. 
Then  He  who  ne'er  before  was  human 
Was  born  in  Bethlehem  of  woman, 

When  nips  the  frost  the  verdant  sod. 

2.  This  richest  babe  comes  poor  in  being, 
More  pearled  within  than  to  the  seeing 

With  diadem  and  royal  power ; 
He  takes  no  heed  of  greater  places, 
But  that  small  spot  alone  embraces, 

Where  light  illumes  the  midnight  hour. 

S.  A  maid  remaining  is  the  mother 
Of  our  salvation- working  author, 

Who  so  defends  us  by  his  grace, 
We  either  death  or  devil  fear  not, 
For  God  in  Him  became  incarnate, 

And  wrestles  with  that  hellish  race. 

4.  This  Prince, — do  they  desire  to  find  him  ? 

They're  worn-out  swaddling  clothes  that  bind  him. 

A  manger,  spread  with  hay,  's  his  bed. 
His  throne  is  higher  than  the  highest, 
Yet  he  among  the  cattle  lieth. 

What  Him,  to  such  a  lot,  has  led  ? 

'N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  ii,  500. 

a  Murphy's  Anthology  of  N.  N.,  (Brad.  Club  Series),  p.  171. 

8Val.  Man.,  1862,  p.  772. 


/TV  the  State  of  New  York.  47 

5.  And  as  they  bring  this  child  before  them, 
Luyck  comes  and  marries  Isendooren, 

Standing-  before  this  Christlike  crib  ; 
And  finds  when  her  consent  is  shewn, 
Flesh  of  his  flesh,  bone  of  his  bone, 

For  Judith  is  his  second  rib.  ■ 

C.  Now  seeks  he  God  with  chaste  affection. 
Who  take  before  such  crib  direction, 

Are  better  than  this  Bethlehem, 
"Which  Christ  no  resting  place  will  give ; 
For  they,  the  after-life,  shall  live 

With  Him  in  New  Jerusalem.1 

Selyns'  sportive  fancy  is  well  exhibited  in  a  second  poem  in  honor 
of  the  same  nuptial  pair.  On  account  of  the  length  of  this  produc- 
tion, we  give  only  extracts  therefrom  : 

BRIDAL  TORCH 
For  Rev.  iEomius  Luyck,  Rector  op  the  Latin  School  at  New  Amsterdam, 
and  Judith  Van  Isendoorn,  Lighted  shortly  after  the  Esopus  Murder 
Committed  at  Wiltwyck,  in  New  Netherland,  by  the  Indians,  in  the 
Tear  1663. 

How  soon  the  flame  of  war  the  flame  of  love  destroys ! 
For  Mars  comes  wickedly,  the  innocent  to  injure ; 

Nor  does  it  Cupid  please,  who  peace  and  love  enjoys, 
And  starts,  at  sight  of  arms,  to  hide  himself  from  danger. 

*  *  *  *  * 

And  had  he  not  betimes  unto  his  wings  betaken, 
They  sure  had  killed  or  wounded  him,  or  captive  borne 

For  Indian  chiefs  to  serve,  or  Indian  forts  to  work  in. 
But  quickly  sat  he  on  the  mountains  of  Katskil, 

And  thus  his  woe  bewailed  :  "  Domestic  joys  ne'er  bless  you, 

Till  Hymen  tends  my  loves,  and  wedlock  serves  my  will." 

*  *  *  *  * 

With  these  and  like  complaints  the  rogue  his  time  did  spend, 

And  then  flew  back  again,  to  town  and  hamlet  hieing. 
But  where  he  flew  nor  bow  nor  arrow  had  to  bend ; 

And  his  vocation  so  with  difficulty  plying. 
***** 

The  captives,  now  and  then,  as  from  the  grave  return  ; 
The  savage  monster's  slain ;  his  wife  and  children  vanish ; 

His  maize  is  all  destroyed ;  his  fort  burnt  to  the  ground ; 
His  guns  for  booty  ta'en ;  his  seewan  fills  our  coffers, 

*  *  *  *  * 
Oft  through  interpreters,  for  terms  the  Indians  sue  ; 

The  port  of  peace  to  gain  they  earnestly  endeavor. 

When  Cupid  hears  of  this,  he  comes  with  great  ado 
And  asks,  M  Who  has  my  bow  ?  and  wails,  "  Where  is  my  quiver  ?  " 
***** 

1  Murphy's  Anthology,  pp.  133,  135. 


48  Annals  of  Public  Education 

They  gave  his  weapons  back,  but  made  him  no  reply, 
Seeking  to  hush  his  wrath  by  thus  his  arms  restoring. 

He  quickly  seizes  them,  and  draws  his  bow  on  high, 
As  if  he  wished  to  pierce  some  special  mark  above  him. 

The  fort,  New  Amsterdam,  is  now  by  all  possessed ; 
While  Judith  stands  beneath,  Luyck  looks  from  the  embrasure, 

And  ere  they  see  or  think,  he  shoots  Luyck  in  the  breast. 
Nor  does  one  shaft  suffice  his  cov'nant-making  pleasure. 

"  Where  did  he  shoot  ?  where  was 't  he  shot  ?  "  inquire  the  folks. 
Luyck  speaks  not,  for  he  feels  something  his  heart  is  boring. 

As  all  look  up  at  Luyck,  so  Judith  upward  looks. 
He  shoots  a  second  time  and  pierces  Isendooren. 

This  great  commotion  makes  and  causes,  far  and  wide, 
Reechoings  of  joy.    While  speaks  he  not,  the  cry 

Resounds  throughout  the  land :  "  Joy  to  the  groom  and  bride, 
Joy  to  the  married  pair,  and  joy  eternally." 

"  Blessings  a  thousand  fold,  attend  them  both,"  they  shout, 
"  In  body  and  in  soul,  here  and  hereafter  flowing. 

Joy  fill  the  house  within :  no  sorrow  lurk  without : 
Who  gives  us  happiness,  the  same  on  them  bestowing." 

Now  we,  who  from  this  rogue,  do  neither  child  of  Mars, 
Nor  Venus  understand,  nor  yet  the  ways  of  mortals, 

Save  what  to  wedlock  leads  and  from  uncleanness  bars, 
Wish  them  the  best  increase,  and  joy  within  their  portals. 

May  this  new  married  pair,  peace  and  salvation  know : 
The  budding  hopes  of  Luyck  and  worth  of  Isendooren, 

Develop  more  and  more,  and  thus  with  time  so  grow, 
They  at  the  dying  hour,  the  port  of  heaven  may  moor  in.1 

Richard  Mills,  Middleburgh  (Newtown),  L.  1.     1657(?)-1661. 

In  the  foregoing  "  Annals,"  we  have  spoken  of  the  school  at  Mid- 
dleburgh as  probably  the  second  one  established  on  Long  Island.  It 
appears,  however,  from  O'Callaghan's  "  Register  of  New  Netherland  " 
(page  120),  that  Mr.  Mills,  the  teacher  of  the  school,  officiated  in  the 
place  of  the  late  minister,  Rev.  John  Moore,  as  early  as  1657 ;  and  it 
is  not  improbable  that  his  duties  of  schoolmaster  were  assumed  at 
that  time.  If  this  inference  be  correct,  Mr.  Mills  was  probably  the 
first  instead  of  the  second  schoolmaster  on  Long  Island. 

He  removed  to  Westchester  in  1661,  where  he  became  involved  in 
a  civil  disturbance,  which  led  to  his  arrest  and  imprisonment.  Mr. 
Riker  says : 

Richard  Mills,  the  late  schoolmaster  of  Middleburgh,  did  much  to 
forward  the  revolt  at  Westchester,2  of  which  place  he  had  become  a 
resident  and  the  leading  magistrate.  Stuyvesant  had  him  arrested, 
and  he  remained  in  prison  more  than  a  month,  but  pleading  with 

1  Murphy's  Anthology,  pp.  137-147. 

3  This  was  an  attempt  to  throw  off  the  Dutch  authority. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  49 

much  importunity  to  be  liberated,  "  being  ancient  and  weakly,"  and 
intending  in  September  to  sail  for  Virginia,  the  Council,  on  June 
18,  1663,  passed  an  order  for  his  release,  and  he,  some  time  after,  left 
the  province.1 

Copies  of  two  successive  petitions  by  Mills  for  release  from  imprison- 
ment, are  given  at  length  in  "  Bolton's  History  of  Westchester 
County,"  vol.  ii,  167,  168.  We  have  met  with  nothing  further,  illus- 
trative of  his  early  life  or  subsequent  history. 

» 
Adriaen  Hegeman,  Midwout  (Flaibush).     1659-1671. 

Kev.  Dr.  Strong,  in  his  History  of  Flatbush  (p.  109),  says  of 
Adriaen  Hegeman :  "  He  was  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  the 
town,  and  was  the  owner  of  the  farm  lying  immediately  north  of  the 
property  now  [1842]  in  the  tenure  of  Mr.  Isaac  Cortelyou.  He  was 
the  ancestor  of  the  widow  of  the  late  Peter  LefFerts,  and  probably  of 
the  whole  family  of  Hegemans  now  living.  He  was  engaged  as 
schoolmaster  from  1659  to  1671."  It  also  appears  that  he  was  a 
magistrate  of  Midwout  as  early  as  1654,2  was  appointed  sheriff  in 
1660,3  officiated  as  secretary  of  schout  and  schepens'  court  of  Breucke- 
lyn  in  1661,4  and  was  schout,  and  member  of  a  convention  held  at 
Midwout,  in  1664.5  His  widow,  Cattelyna  Hegeman,  is  mentioned  as 
applying  to  the  Commanders  and  Honorable  Council,  in  1673,  for 
leave  to  proceed  with  immediate  execution  against  debtors,  which  was 
granted.6 

Dr.  Strong  mentions  another  Adriaen  Hegeman,  perhaps  a  son  of 
the  former,  as  schoolmaster  in  Flatbush  from  1719  to  1741,  and  also 
mentions,  in  his  reminiscences  of  the  Revolution,  that  the  British 
"  knocked  out  large  port-holes  in  the  house  of  Adriaen  Hegeman 
which  stood  on  the  spot  where  Mrs.  Cynthia  Lefferts  is  now  [1842] 
living."6 

Carel  de  Beauvois,  Breuchelen  (BrQotyyn).  1661-  (?) 
A  brief  sketch  of  this  person  (the  greater  part  of  which,  as  quoted  in 
Stiles'  History  of  Brooklyn,  has  been  given  on  pages  185,  186),  and 
the  genealogy  of  his  descendants,  will  be  found  in  Riker's  Annals  of 
Newtown,  pp.  406-410.  We  only  add  the  following  record,  from 
which  it  appears  that  he  originally  intended  to  teach  in  New 
Amsterdam : 

1  Riker's  Annals  of  Newtown,  p.  59.  *  Ante,  p.  181. 

2  O'Call.  Register  of  N.  N.,  pp.  76, 145.       6  K  Y.  Col.  Doc.,  ii,  603. 

3  Stiles'  Hist,  of  Brooklyn,  i,  112.  9  Strong's  Hist,  of  Flatbush,  pp.  110, 143 


50  Annals  of  Public  Education 

Friday,  27th  June,  1659.     In  the  City  Hall. 
*  *  *  *  *  * 

The  undersigned  persons  appear  in  Court,  requesting  their  Small 
Burgher  Right :  Carel  Beauvois,  of  Leiden,  intending  to  keep  school 
here ;  Puck  Jensen  van  Oldenburgh ;  Antony  van  Aalst,  all  of  whom 
have  taken  the  Burgher  oath.1 

Andries  van  der  Sluys,2  Esopus  {Kingston).     1858(?). 

This  person  wrote  to  Director  Stuyvesant,  from  Esopus,  Sept.  28, 

1658j  as  follows : 

****** 

The  inhabitants  here  are  very  desirous  to  retain  me  in  the  service 
[of  voorleser  or  reader],  in  order  to  explain  the  word  of  the  law 
according  to  my  poor  ability,  and  to  catechise  the  children  and  instruct 
them  in  reading  and  writing ;  but  inasmuch  as  mine  Heer  General 
had  spoken  with  them  about  a  minister,  they  cannot  engage  me  for  a 
term  of  years.  Therefore  it  is  my  humble  and  respectful  petition  to 
mine  Heer  General,  that  he  would  be  pleased  to  assist  me  herein  or 
otherwise,  so  that  I  may  by  this  means  and  the  help  of  God  get  hon- 
estly through  the  world.3 

****** 

We  find  no  mention  of  this  application  in  the  Council  minutes,  nor 
any  further  evidence  that  he  officiated  as  schoolmaster  at  Esopus. 

Arent  Evertsen  Molenaar,  New  Amstel  {Delaware).    1661.4 
This  person  seems  to  have  succeeded  Evert  Pietersen  as  school- 
master at  the  above  settlement. 

Engelbert  Steenhuysen,  Bergen.     1661-1663(?). 

Keinier,  Midwout  (Flaibush).     l661-(?). 

Jonas  Hotjldsworth,  Hempstead,  1662  •  Southampton,  1663-1665(?) ; 

Huntington  (?) (?). 

Boudewyn  Maenhottt,  Bushwyck.     1663-(?). 

We  find  nothing  beyond  the  documents  heretofore  quoted,  relative 
to  either  of  these  schoolmasters. 

Andries  Jansz  (Jansen),  Renselaerswych.     1650. 
Among  the  signers  of  the  "  Address  of  citizens  of  Albany  to  the 
Earl  of  Bellomont,"  dated  Aug.  24,  1700,5  and  on  the  list  of  free- 
holders in  Albany  in  1701,6  we  find  the  name  of  Andries  Jansz.     His 
child,  Catryntje,  was  baptised  Sept.  8,  1672.'' 


7 


1 N.  Amst.  Rec,  iii,  377.  5  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  iv,  754. 

8  O'Call.  Reg.  N.  N.,  p.  132.  8N.  Y,  Col.  Doc,  iv,  940. 

3  N.  Y.  Col.  MSS.,  xii,  89.  7  Val.  Man.,  1863,  p.  781. 
«  O'Call.  Reg.  N.  N.,  p.  133. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  51 

Jacob  Joosten,  Wiltwyck  {Kingston).     1660-1665. 

Mattys  Capito,  Wiltwyck.     166(?). 

We  are  indebted  to  Jonathan  Hasbrouck,  Esq.,  of  Kerhonkson, 
Ulster  county,  for  the  following  facts  : 

Jacob  Joosten,  from  "Kaagh  ande  Mesel,1  in  Duyslant,"  came 
down  to  Wiltwycke  (Kingston),  from  Fort  Orange,  in  the  fall  of 
1660,  and  opened  both  a  "day  and  night  school."  He  held  catecheti- 
cal exercises  twice  a  week.  He  was  voorleezer  (reader),  and  in  the 
organization  of  the  first  court,  May,  1661,  he  was  appointed  messen- 
ger or  constable.  He  received  from  the  bench  two  hundred  guilders 
in  sewan  per  year,  which  probably  covered  his  office  in  church,  for  the 
court  paid  the  church  bills  by  a  morgen  taalen  (land  tax).  At  first 
lie  did  not  have  a  day  school  during  the  summer  season,  .but  about 
1664  and  1665,  he  kept  one.  He,  however,  kept  up  the  night  exer- 
cises all  the  year,  except  during  "  oost  tyd  "  (harvest  time).  He  married 
6th  August,  1662,  Ariaentje  Keschuer,  born  in  Welpe  in  Gelderland, 
a  widow  of  Marcus  Leenderse,  of  Fort  Orange.  He  died  childless 
about  1680,  and  left  a  small  estate  to  Gerret  Cornelissen,  New  Kerke. 
I  omitted  in  proper  order  to  say,  that  he  was  discharged  from  office 
because  of  disobedience,  1665.  Win.  Montagne  succeeded  him  in  the 
schoolroom,  but  that  was  under  the  English.  The  schoolroom  was  at 
first  in  the  shanty  which  served  for  guard-house,  church  and  court- 
room as  well.  The  roof  rested  on  a  pole  which  laid  in  the  crotch  of 
two  trees.  On  the  erection  of  a  court-room  and  church  in  1661,  he 
moved  his  school  to  it,  and  stayed  in  it  until  he  "  quit  school."  He  was 
paid  by  subscription  of  the  patrons  of  his  school,  and  received  his  pay 
in  beans,  peas,  oats,  wheat,  hops,  etc. 

Mattys  Capito,  secretary  of  the  Esopus,  taught  a  school  atone  time, 
but  I  cannot  learn  when.  He  sued  Hester  Donsoeise  for  the  school- 
ing of  her  daughter,  1665. 

PRIVATE  SCHOOLMASTERS  IN  NEW  AMSTERDAM. 

Adriaen  Jansen  van  Ilpendam.     1645-1660. 

Mr.  Valentine  says : 

For  the  year  previous  to  his  [Roelantsen's]  banishment,  one  Arien 
Jansen  van  Ilpendam  settled  here  and  opened  school.2  Having  no 
competitor  after  Roelantsen's  banishment,8  it  is  to  be  supposed  that 
Yan  Ilpendam  succeeded  in  making  his  pursuit  profitable,  inasmuch 
as  children  were  fast  accumulating  in  the  town.  The  terms  of  tui- 
tion charged  by  this  teacher  were  two  beavers  per  annum. 
We  find,  from  various  sources,  that  Yan   Ilpendam  taught  several 

1  Wesel,  (?) 

8 Mr.  Dunshee  (p.  51)  mentions  two  private  schoolmasters,  "Aryaen  Jansen"  and 
"  Adrian  van  Ilpendam,"  whom  we  conclude  to  be  one  and  the  same  person,  Adriaen 
Jansen  van  Ilpendam. 

3  We  find  no  evidence  that  Roelantsen  had  been  teaching  for  several  years  prior  to 
his  banishment,  i.  e.,  from  1639  to  1646 ;  nor,  as  we  have  already  seen,  was  the  sen- 
tence ever  enforced. 


52  Annals  of  Public  Education 

children,  who  afterwards  were  among  the  leading  citizens  in  town. 
He  lived  in  this  city  and  taught  school  during  many  subsequent  years, 
at  least  as  late  as  in  the  year  1660.  But  of  his  ultimate  history  we 
can  ascertain  nothing.  It  appears  certain,  however,  that  he  left  no 
descendants  in  this  colony.1 

We  find,  however,  the  following  additional  record  in  the  "Abstract 
of  Patents,"  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  from  which  we 
conclude  that  Ilpendam  removed  to  Beverwyck  (Albany)  and  lived 
there  a  number  of  years  : 

May  21,  1667 — To  Adriaen  Jansen  van  Ilpendam,  to  confirm  a 
conveyance  to  him,  made  March  14,  1658,  by  Jochem  Wessels,  of  a 
certain  lot  of  ground  lying  in  Beverwyck,  at  Albany.2      *      *      * 

We  have  a]  so  quoted  in  the  "Annals  "  (p.  16),  a  court  record  dated 
at  Fort  Orange  (Albany),  in  1660,  in  relation  to  school  money. 

David  Provoost.     1647  (?). 

Dr.  O'Callaghan,  in  his  "  Register  of  New  Netherlands '  speaking 
of  the  "  Nine  Men  "  (p.  55),  says :  "  They  held  their  sessions  in 
David  Provoost's  schoolroom ; "  and  on  page  130,  he  mentions 
Aryaen  Jansen  [Yan  Ilpendam]  and  David  Provoost,  as  school-mas- 
ters in  1647. 

Mr.  Provoost  was  a  prominent  citizen  of  New  Amsterdam,  and 
one  of  the  "  Nine  Men,"  in  1652 ;  but  we  find  no  other  mention  of 
him  as  a  schoolmaster. 

In  the  list  of  baptisms  in  the  Dutch  Church,  we  find  the  names  of 
nine  children  of  David  Provoost.  These  baptisms  occurred  between 
February  24,  1641,  and  March  26,  1656.8  He  died  in  1656,  leaving 
hjs  widow,  Margaret  Jellisen  (or  Gillisen),  and  several  children  who 
afterwards  became  prominent  citizens,  and  whose  descendants  are 
now  numerous  in  the  State.4 

Joost  Carelse.     1649.5 
We  find  no  original  record  of  his  service  as  a  schoolmaster,  but 
learn  that  he  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  English  at  the  capitu- 
lation in  1664,6  and  that  he  had  five  children  baptized  between  Sept. 
15, 1658,  and  Oct.  14,  1666.7 

1  Valentine's  Manual,  1863,  p.  561.  6  O'Call.  Reg.  N.  N.,  p.  130. 

aAbs.  of  Patents,  p.  162.  6N.  Y.  Col.  Doc.,  iii,  75. 

3  Valentine's  Manual,  1863,  p.  804.  7  Val.  Man.,  1863,  p.  750. 

4  Valentine's  Hist,  of  N.  Y.,  p.  143. 


in  the  State  of  New  Fork.  53 

Hans  Steyn.     Licensed,  1652. 

The  following  record  occurs  in  the  Council  minutes  for  Sept.  2, 

1652: 

On  the  petition  of  Hans  Steyn,  soliciting  permission  to  keep 
school, — granted.1 

It  appears  from  an  affidavit  made  Dec.  7, 1638,  that  he  was,  at  that 
time,  a  midshipman,  twenty-four  years  of  age.2  He  had  a  son,  Lau- 
rens, baptized  Aug.  10, 1652  ; 3  was  a  deputy  jailor,  in  1664,  residing, 
for  a  period,  in  the  city  hall ;  was  taxed,  in  1665,  for  the  city  defences ; 4 
but  soon  returned  to  Holland,  as  appears  from  an  affidavit  made  in 
Amsterdam  in  1666,  in  which  his  age  is  said  to  be  "about  forty- 
seven."  5  It  will  be  observed  that  there  is  a  discrepancy  of  five  years 
in  the  above  two  statements,  as  to  the  age  of  Steyn,  which  is  not 
reconciled  by  reference  to  the  original  records. 

Andries  Hudde.  Applied  for  a  License,  Dec.  31, 1654. 
In  December,  1654,  this  person,  as  already  seen,  applied  for  a 
license  to  teach  school,  which  application  was  referred  to  the  minister 
and  consistory,  but  with  what  result  does  not  appear ;  though  it  is 
assumed  by  Dunshee6  and  others,  that  it  was  granted,  and  that  he  is 
therefore  entitled  to  be  classed  among  the  private  schoolmasters  of 
New  Amsterdam.  Hudde  was  born  in  Amsterdam,  in  1608 ;  came 
to  this  country  in  1629,  and  married  Geertruyd  Boornstra,  widow  of 
Hendrick  de  Foreest.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Director's  Council 
in  1633,  1636  and  1637 ;  provincial  secretary,  in  163(?) ;  commissary 
of  stores,  in  1637 ;  surveyor  general,  in  1642 ;  commissary  at  Fort 
Nassau,  on  the  Delaware  river,  in  1645  and  1647 ;  whence  he  after- 
wards returned  to  New  Amsterdam,  and  was  again  surveyor  of  New 
Netherland,  in  1654.  In  1657,  he  returned  to  the  settlements  on  the 
Delaware,  where  he  held  various  official  positions,  from  1655  to  1663. 
During  the  latter  year,  while  on  his  way  to  Maryland,  he  was  seized 
with  a  fever  and  died.7 

Jacobus  van  Curler.     1658. 
This  person  was  born  about  the  year  1611,  as  appears  by  sundry 
"  declarations  "  in  the  Register  of  the  Provincial  Secretary,  in  which 
the  age  of  the  deponent,  as  usual,  was  stated.   He  held  various  offices 

1  Alb.  Rec.,  vi,  3.  Cal.  Dutch  MSS.,  p.  126.  5  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  ii,  475. 

3 Alb.  Rec.,  i,  68.  "Dunshee,  p.  51. 

8Val.  Man.,  1863,  p.  812.  T  Valentine's     Manual,    1863,    p.    163. 

4  Val.  Hist,  of  N.  Y.,  pp.  85,  316.  O'Call.  Reg.  N.  N.  (See  Index) 


54  Annals  of  Public  Education 

in  the  colony,  from  1633  to  1662.  In  1658,  as  already  seen,  he 
attempted  to-  teach  withput  a  license,  and  having  subsequently  applied 
for  permission,  was  peremptorily  refused  upon  what  seem  to  have 
been  technical  grounds  (see  p.  20). 

The  following  marriage  refers  to  the  subject  of  this  sketch  : 
Aug.  4,  1652.     Jacob  Coorlaar ;  from  Nienercke. 

Lysbeth  van  Hoogvelt,  from  Aernham.1 

Jan  Lubbertsen.     1658.* 
Marriage  record : 

June  7,  1659.     Jan  Lubbertsen,  from  Edam. 

Magdalena  Theuris,  from  Yoorsthuysen.8 
Baptisms : 

Eight  children,  from  Dec.  29,  1660,  to  Aug.  25,  1683.4 

Jan  Juriaense  Becker.     Licensed,  Aug.  16, 1660. 

The  earliest  mention  of  Becker  which  we  have  seen,  is  under  date 
of  August  24,  1656,  at  which  time,  as  clerk  of  the  church  at  Fort 
Casimir  on  the  South  (Delaware)  river,  he  petitioned  for  a  salary, 
which  was  granted.5  In  January,  1660,  William  Beeckman,  writing 
from  Altoona  to  Stuyvesant,  states  that  Jan  Jurianse  Becker  reads 
the  sermons  on  Sundays.6  It  appears  from  his  petition,  already 
quoted,  for  a  license  to  teach,  that  he  was  at  that  time  keeping  tavern, 
and  we  find  that  he  had  then  been  convicted  of  selling  liquor  to  the 
Indians,  and  fined  five  hundred  guilders  for  the  offence.7  He,  how- 
ever, applied  for  a  pardon,  which  was  promptly  granted8  on  the 
ground  that  this  was  a  common  practice,  as  shown  by  the  affidavit  of 
other  parties.  He  seems  finally  to  have  removed  to  Albany,  and  to 
have  been  an  alderman  in  1 690-1 692.9 

Frans  Claessen.     1660. 

Mr.  Valentine  says : 

"  In  1660,  Frans  Claessen  kept  a  private  school  in  this  city.  He 
died  in  1662." 10 

We  find  his  name,  however,  on  the  list  of  inhabitants  taxed  for  the 
city  defences,  in  1665.11  His  child,  Tymon,  was  baptized,  September 
26,  1657.12 

1  Valentine's  Manual,  1861,  p.  645.  8  Alb.  Rec.,  xxiv,  192. 

3  O'Call.  Reg.  N.  K,  p.  131.  9  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc.,  iii,  771,  772,  773;  iv, 
3Val.  Man.,  1861,  p.  649.  941. 

4  Val.  Man.,  1863,  p.  792.  10  Val.  Man.,  1863,  p.  565. 

6  Cal.  Dutch.  MSB.,  p.  173.  »  Val.  Hist,  of  N.  Y.,  p.  316. 

6  Cal.  Dutch  MSS.,  p.  340.  12  Val.  Man.,  1863,  p.  751. 

7  Cal.  Dutch  MSS.,  pp.  209, 210. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  55 

Johannes  van  Gelder.     Licensed,  Sept.  21, 1662. 

Marriage  record : 
May  19,  1686.     Johannes  Yan  Gelder  and  Aefje  Koos,  beth  of 
N.  York.1 

Baptisms : 

Five  children,  between  Feb.  20,  1687,  and  Nov.  17,  1695.2 

From  the  foregoing  view  of  educational  affairs  during  the  Dutch 
colonial  period,  we  infer  that  the  existing  system  and  condition  of 
education  in  this  State  is  not  th  e  growth  merely  of  the  present  or  of 
the  last  preceding  century,  but  that  it  owes  its  origin,  in  part,  to  the 
character,  customs  and  policy  of  our  ancestors  of  New  Netherland, 
whose  influence  in  the  formation  of  social  and  State  institutions  by 
no  means  ceased  when  the  sceptre  of  authority  was  formally  trans- 
ferred to  other  hands.  Viewed  in  this  light,  these  "  Annals  of  Edu- 
cation in  New  Netherland  "  are  to  be  regarded  not  as  antiquities 
of  obsolete  importance,  but  rather  as  constituting  the  first  chapter  in 
the  history  of  the  system  of  public  education  established  in  this 
State. 

1  Val.  Man.,  1861,  p.  666.  a  Val.  Man..  1863,  p.  823. 


CHAPTER   II 


SECOND  PERIOD. 

PUBLIC  EDUCATION  IN  THE  COLONY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

PAET  I. 

FROM    THE    CAPITULATION    BY  THE    DUTCH,   TO    THE   FIRST  'LEGISLATIVE  ACT   FOB 
FOUNDING  A  COLLEGE.      1664-1746. 

The  establishment  of  English  supremacy  in  New  Netherland  seems 
to  have  occasioned,  as  one  of  its  incidental  fruits,  the  promulgation, 
by  Governor  Nicolls,  of  an  exclusive  license  to  one  John  Shutte,  to 
teach  an  English  school  at  Albany,  then  a  rude  frontier  settlement, 
though  long  since  and  now  the  capital  of  the  State.  It  adds  interest 
to  this  brief  and  unpretending  document,  which,  however,  more  than 
almost  any  other  of  that  era,  embodies  and  declares  a  settled  policy 
in  regard  to  educational  affairs,  adopted,  we  may  suppose,  from  the 
conquered  Dutch  themselves, — to  find  it  also  entitled,  by  chronolo- 
gical precedence,  to  the  first  place  among  our  gleanings  for  the  period 
under  consideration.  This  warrant  for  the  exercise  of  a  "  little  brief 
authority  "  in  the  pedagogue's  vocation,  having  served  its  original 
purpose,  has  lain  dormant  in  the  archives  of  the  State  almost  or  quite 
two  centuries,  and  might  not  have  been  hitherto  brought  to  light, 
had  not  an  enterprising  local  annalist  (Mr.  Munsell)  recently  trans- 
ferred it  to  the  printed  page  from  which,  as  well  as  from  the  original 
record,  we  are  enabled  to  quote : 

The  Governor's  license,  granted  unto  John  Shutte,  for  teaching  of 

the  English  tongue  at  Albany. 

Whereas,  the  teaching  of  the  English  tongue  is  necessary  in  this 
government ;  I  have,  therefore,  thought  fitt  to  give  license  to  John 
Shutte  to  be  the  English  Schoolmaster  at  Albany ;  And,  upon  con- 
dition that  the  said  John  Shutte  shall  not  demand  any  more  wages 
from  each  Schollar  than  is  given  by  the  Dutch  to  their  Dutch  School- 
masters, I  have  further  granted  to  the  said  John  Shutte  that  hee  shall 
bee  the  onely  English  Schoolmaster  at  Albany. 

Given  under  my  hand,  at  Fort  James  in  New  York,  the  12th  day 
of  October,  1665/ 

KICH'D  NICOLLS. 

1  Munsell's  Annals  of  Albany,  iv,  16 ;  Orders,  Warrants  and  Letters  (MS.),  in  office 
of  Secretary  of  State,  ii,  17. 


58  Annals  of  Public  Education 

Our  next  quotation,  of  five  years'  later  date,  is  from  the  records  of 
the  succeeding  administration  of  Gfovernor  Lovelace,  and  is  almost 
identical  with  the  foregoing  as  to  subject-matter,  being  also  a  license 
to  teach  at  Albany. 

An  order  for  Jan  Jurians  Bleecker    [Beecker,  or  Becker]   to  be 
schoolmaster  at  Albany. 

Whereas,  Jan  Jeurians  Beecker  had  a  Graunt  to  keep  ye  Dutch 
school  at  Albany  for  ye  teaching  of  youth  to  read  &  to  wryte  ye 
which  was  allowed  of  and  confirmed  to  him  by  my  predecessor  Coll. 
Richard  Nicolls  Notwithstanding  which  severall  others  not  so  capa- 
ble do  undertake  ye  like  some  particular  tymes  &  seasons  of  ye  yeare 
when  they  have  no  other  Imployment,  where  by  ye  Schollars  remov- 
ing from  one  Schoole  to  another  do  not  onely  give  a  great  discourage- 
ment to  ye  maister  who  makes  it  his  businesse  all  ye  yeare  but  also  are 
hindred  &  become  ye  more  backwards  in  there  learning  ffor  ye  reasons 
aforesaid  I  have  thought  fitt  that  ye  said  Jan  Jurians  Beecker  who  is 
esteemed  very  capable  that  way  shall  be  ye  allowed  schoolmaster  for 
ye  instructing  of  ye  youth  at  Albany  &  partes  adjacent  he  following 
ye  said  Imployment  Constantly  &  diligently  &  that  no  other  be 
admitted  to  interrupt  him  It  being  to  be  presumed  that  ye  said 
Beecker  for  ye  youth  and  Jacob  Joosten  who  is  allowed  of  for  ye 
teaching  of  ye  younger  children  are  sufficient  for  that  place. 

Given  under  my  hand  at  ffort  James  in  New  Yorke  this  16th  day 
of  May,  1670.1 

Mr.  Henry  Onderdonk,  Jr.,  has  furnished  the  following  items  from 
the  official  records  of  the  town  of  Hempstead,  Queens  county  : 

1669. Houlding  [Houldsworth  ?]  (first  name  not  recorded), 

schoolmaster,  bought  3  quires  white  paper  at  4<s.  6d.  in  Flushing. 

1670. — Peter  Johnson  schol?  occurs  in  the  Hempstead  Records. 

1670,  May  1. — Richard  Gildersleeve  is  hired  to  be  drummer  for  one 
year  at  25s.  in  corn,  and  town  clerk  at  40$.  In  case  the  expected 
schoolmaster  comes  and  is  made  town  clerk,  then  Gildersleeve  is  to 
be  paid  for  the  time  he  serveth. 

Richard  Charlton,  schoolmaster,  came  in  July. 

Governor  Lovelace  seems,  in  one  instance  at  least,  to  have  approved 
himself  as  an  "  exactor  of  righteousness,"  on  the  principle  that  "  the 
laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire,"  the  documentary  evidence  whereof  is 
as  follows : 

An  Ord.  made  on  behalf  of  Mr.  Charlton  for  getting  in  his  money 
from  ye  Towne  of  Hempstead,  for  teaching  School  there. 
Whereas,  I  am  given  to  understand  that  ye  major  part  of  yor 
Towne  did,  at  a  Publick  Meeting  Contract  wth  Richard  Charlton  to 

1Miinsell's  Annals,  iv,  15;  Court  of  Assize  Rec,  ii,  536. 

2  Might  not  schol  stand  for  sdiolasticus,  schoolmaster  ?  Another  addition  to  his 
name  is  "  cordwainer."    (H.  O.,  Jr.) 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  59 

keep  a  Schoole  to  Instruct  ye  Children  &  Youth  there  to  write  and 
read,  the  wch  hee  hath  performed  for  the  whole  time  of  ye  Contract, 
yet  diverse  of  the  Towne,  although  they  have  received  the  Benefitt 
thereof,  doe  refuse  or  too  long  delay  the  Payment  contracted  for ; 
These  are  to  require  you  to  cause  speedy  Payment  to  bee  made  unto 
him,  according  to  your  Contract,  that  Persons  of  that  Calling  bee  not 
djscouraged,  otherwise  -hee  will  have  good  Remedy  against  you  at 
Law  to  your  greater  Charge  and  Disparagement  Given  under  my 
Hand  at  ffort  James,  in  New  Yorke  this  21th  day  of  March  1671. 

FKAN:LOYELACE. 
To  if  Justices  of  the  Peace,  Constable,  dfc  Overseers  at  Hempstead.1 

During  the  temporary  re-occupancy  of  the  government  of  the 
province  by  the  Dutch,  under  Governor  Colve,  in  1673,  an  ordinance 
was  promulgated,  from  which  the  following  extracts  are  taken  : 

ORDINANCE 

Of  the  Governor  General  and  Council  of  New  Netherland,  explaining 
the  Duties  and  Powers  of  the  Schout  and  Schepens  of  Midwout, 
Amesfoort,  Breuckelen,  New  Utrecht,  Gravesend  and  Bushwyck. 
Passed  1  October,  1673.  . 

[N.  Y.  Col.  MSS.,  xxiii,  83.] 
Art.  1.  The  Sheriff  and  Magistrates  shall,  each  in  his  quality,  take 
care  that  the  Reformed  Christian  Religion  be  maintained  in  con- 
formity to.  the  Synod  of  Dordrecht,  without  permitting  any  other 
Sects  attempting  any  thing  contrary  thereto. 

•*  #  #  #  #  # 

9.  The  Sheriff  and  Schepens  shall  have  power  to  conclude  on 
some  ordinances  for  the  welfare  and  peace  of  the  inhabitants  of  their 
district,  such  as  laying  Highways,  setting  off  lands  and  gardens,  and 
in  like  manner,  what  appertains  to  agriculture,  observance  of  the 
Sabbath,  erecting  Churches,  School-houses,  or  similar  public  works. 

Item,  against  fighting  and  wrestling,  and  such  petty  offenses,  pro- 
vided such  Ordinances  are  not  contrary,  but  as  far  as  possible,  con- 
formable to  the  Laws  of  our  Fatherland  and  the  Statutes  of  this 
Province ;  and,  therefore,  all  orders  of  any  importance  shall,  before 
publication,  be  presented  to  the  Chief  Magistrate,  and  his  approval 
thereof  requested.2 

Note. — Similar  Instruction  was  sent  to  Flushing,  Hemsted,  Mid- 
dleburgh,  Jamaica,  Oysterbay,  Southampton,  Southold,  Seatalcot, 
Huntington  and  East  Hampton,  on  L.  I.,  to  Swanenburg,  Hurley  & 
Marbletown,  in  the  Esopus ;  to  Elizabeth  town,  Woodbridge,  Shrews- 
bury, Newarke,  Bergen,  Piscattaway  and  Middletown,  behind  Achter 
Cul ;  and  to  Staten  Island  and  Westchester.3 

1  General  Entries  (MS.)  in  office  of  Sec'y  of  State,  iv,  117 ;  see  also  a  memorandum 
in  Onderdonk's  L.  I.,  and  N.  Y.,  (Scrap-books  in  State  Library),  i,  102. 

2,  3  O'Callaghan's  Laws  of  New  Netherland,  476-480 ;  N.  Y.  Doc.  Hist,  i,  426, 
427(4°ed.);  G55-G58  (8°ed.) 


60  Annals  of  Public  Education 

It  does  not  appear,  so  far  as  we  have  seen,  that  any  disagreement, 
in  regard  to  school  matters,  arose  between  the  general  and  local 
authorities,  under  the  above  ordinance  or  otherwise,  except  in  the 
town  of  Bergen  (N.  J.),  which  was  then  considered  a  part  of  New 
Netherland.  On  this  point,  the  following  records  speak  for  them- 
selves : 
At  a  Council  holden  in  Fort  Wm.  Hendrick  the  24th  December,  1673. 

Present — Anthony  Colve,  Governor-General. 

Cornells  Steenwyck,  Councillor. 
****** 

The  Schout  and  Magistrates  of  the  town  of  Bergen  requesting  that 
the  inhabitants  of  all  the  settlements  dependent  on  them,  of  what 
religious  persuasion  soever  they  may  be,  shall  be  bound  to  pay  their 
share  towards  the  support  of  the  Precentor  and  Schoolmaster,  &c, 
which  being  taken  into  consideration  by  the  Governor  and  Council, 

It  is  ordered : 

That  all  the  said  inhabitants,  without  any  exception,  shall,  pursuant 
to  the  resolution  of  the  Magistrates  of  the  town  of  Bergen,  dated 
18th  Xber,  1672,  and  subsequent  confirmation,  pay  their  share  for  the 

support  of  said  Precentor  and  Schoolmaster.1 

*  *  *  * 

It  might  be  inferred  from  the  last  paragraph  above,  were  other 
evidences  of  the  fact  wanting,  that  the  change  of  administration  from 
the  Dutch  to  the  English,  and  vice  versa,  for  a  brief  period  in  1 673, 
did  not  materially  disturb  or  interfere  with  local  officers  and  their 
official  duties. 

At  a  Council,  holden  in   Fort  Willeim  Hendrick,  this  24th  May, 
1674. 
Present — [as  on  Dec.  24, 1673,  and] 

Secretary  Nicholaes  Bayard,  assumed  Councillor. 

*  *  *  * 

The  Schout  and  Magistrates  of  the  town  of  Bergen,  complaining 
by  petition,  that  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  their  dependent  hamlets, 
in  disparagement  of  the  previous  order  of  the  Governor-General  and 
Council,  dated  the  24  Xber  last,  obstinately  refuse  to  pay  their  quota 
to  the  support  of  the  Precentor  and  Schoolmaster. 

Ordered : 

The  Governor-General  and  Council  persist  in  their  previous  man- 
date of  the  24th  Xber  last  and  order  the  Schout  to  proceed  to  imme- 
diate execution  against  all  unwilling  debtors.2 

*  *  *  * 

At  a  Council  held  in  Fort  Willem  Hendrick,  15th  June,  1674. 
Present — [as  on  May  24,  1674,  and] 

Fiscal  Willem  Knyff,  as  assumed  Councillor. 

*  *  *  * 

1  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  ii,  672.  2  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  ii,  714 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  Gl 

On  petition  of  Lourens  Andries,  and  Joost  van  der  Linde,  agents 
for  the  inhabitants  of  Mingagque  and  Pemrepogh,  requesting  to  be 
excused  from  contributing  to  the  support  of  the  schoolmaster  at 
Bergen,  &c. 

Ordered : 

Copy  hereof  to  be  furnished  the  Magistrates  of  the  town  of  Bergen 
to  answer  the  same.1 

*  *•  *  •* 

At  a  Court  held  in  Fort  Willem  Hendrick,  on  the  5th  of  July, 
1674. 

Present — [as  on  May  24,  1674], 

*  *•  #  # 

The  Governor  and  Council  of  New  Netherland,  having  seen  the 
complaint  of  the  town  of  Bergen  against  the  inhabitants  of  the  vil- 
lages of  Pemrepogh,  Mingagquy,  &c,  and  the  answer  given  by  them, 
in  regard  to  what  the  inhabitants  of  Pemrepogh  and  Mingagquy 
aforesaid,  owe  for  the  support  of  the  Schoolmaster,  and  precentor  of 
the  town  of  Bergen,  it  is  after  due  inquiry  resolved  and  ordered,  that 
the  inhabitants  of  Pemrepogh  and  Mingagquy,  shall  promptly  pay 
their  share  for  the  support  aforesaid,  on  pain  of  proceeding  against 
them  with  immediate  execution.2 


The  foregoing  action  on  the  part  of  the  Governor  and  Council 
seems  to  have  fully  settled  and  confirmed  the  policy  of  the  Dutch 
administration  in  regard  to  free  public  schools  supported  solely  by 
taxation,  and  which,  but  for  the  re-conquest  by  the  English,  might, 
perhaps,  have  continued  without  interruption  to  this  day. 

It  seems  from  the  next  quotation  that  chivalrous  martial  exercises 
received  some  attention  in  the  young  metropolis  at  this  early  period : 

By  the  Governor. 

Whereas,  application  [part  of  MS.  destroyed]      .      .      .     me,  I 

do  consent     .      .      . p*  Thomas  Smith  to  admitt  and  teach  any 

Gentlemen  or  other  nree  Men  the  use  or  Exercise  of  Amies,  for 
which  to  meet  at  any  fitt  times  and  Places  within  this  City,  without 
any  Lett  or  Molestation:  Comporting  themselves  as  they  ought. 
Given  under  my  Hand  in  New  York  this  18th  day  of  December, 
1675. 

To  all  Magistrates,  Officers,  or  others  whom  it  may  Concern? 

The  zeal  of  certain  constables  of  Long  Island  for  the  mental  and 
moral  welfare  of  the  people,  as  exhibited  in  the  annexed  petition, 
may  be  commended  as  worthy  of  imitation  by  police  officers  and 
magistrates  of  the  present  day : 

1  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  fi,  720.  8  N.  Y.  Col.  MSB.,  xxv,  68. 

8  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  ii,  730. 


62  Annals  of  Public  Education 

To  ye  Eight  Honorabl  Edmond  Androus  Esqr.  Governor  Gen11  of  all 
his  Koyall  Highnes  Territory  in  America  &  the  Woppmll  his  Majtie8 
Justices  of  ye  Board  sitting  in  thy  Honorable  Court  of  Assizes  this 
4th  of  Octor,  1677. 

The  humble  Desire  of  ye  Constables  of  ye  East  &  North  Rideing  on 
Long  Island : 

To  yor  Iionor  &  Wopp  most  humbly  Showeth  it  is  Theire  Desire : 
That   the  maintenance   and  Encouragem1  for  ye  Ministry  may  by 

some  way  bee  established  &   that  such  Encouragem1  may  bee   that 

theire  may  bee  A  Minister  in  each  respective  Towne  that  wants. 

That  theire  may  also  bee  some  way  established  for  the  Maintenance 

6f  A  Schoolle-Mar  in  each  Towne.1 

#  #  *  # 

Professor  Jonathan  Pearson,  of  Union  College,  translator  and 
editor  of  the  "  Early  Records  of  the  City  and  County  of  Albany,  and 
Colony  of  Rensselaerswyck  (1656-1675),"  has  kindly  funished  several 
items,  as  follows : 

On  the  4th  of  April,  1676,  Gerrit  Swartt,  Jan  Becker  and  Arien 
Appel  were  chosen  Schoolmasters  of  Albany ;  they  were  then  to  be 
the  sole  Schoolmasters  of  the  Village ;  but  shortly  after,  the  same 
year,  Luykas  Gerritse  [Wyngaard]  was  also  appointed  Schoolmaster 
because  he  was  impotent  in  his  hand? 

(1.)  Gerrit  Swartt  was  appointed  Schout  fiscal  or  sheriff  of  Rensse- 
laerswyck  in  1652.     He  was  succeeded  by  Captain  Salisbury  in  1670.8 

(2.)  Jan  Jurriaense  Becker  [of  whom  a  brief  biographical  sketch 
has  already  been  given  in  our  "Annals"  of  New  Netherland, 
ante  p.  54]  was  an  inhabitant  of  Greenbush  opposite  Beverwyck,  in 
1663  ;  afterwards  notary  public  and  schoolmaster  at  Beverwyck,  and 
"  esteemed  very  capable  that  way,  whilst  Jacob  Jooste  Covelens  was 
allowed  for  ye  teaching  of  ye  younger  children."  He  made  his  will 
the  3d  of  Aug.,  1694,  in  which  he  speaks  of  son  Johannes  and 
daughter  Martina  (wife  of  Willem  Hogan),  who  was  made  adminis- 
tratrix of  his  estate  Dec.  16th,  1697. 

(3.)  Adriaen  or  [Arien]  Janse  Appel  came  from  Leyden :  in  1654, 
he  received  a  patent  for  a  lot  at  Beverwyck,  on  condition  that  the 
house  to  be  erected  thereon  be  not  an  ordinary  tippling  house,  but  an 
Inn  for  travellers ;  in  1656,  he  sued  Marcelis  Janse  for  the  loss  of  an 
anker  of  brandy  by  drawing  it  with  violence  through  the  streets ; 
from  1676-86,  he  was  one  of  the  four  schoolmasters  of  Albany. 

He  resided  for  a  time  at  New  Amsterdam.  He  had  two  sons, 
Johannes  and  Willem,  who  at  different  times  resided  at  Schenectady, 
Albany  and  New  York ;  at  the  former  place  they  were  both  wounded 
by  the  French  and  Indians  in  their  attack  upon  the  village,  Feb.  9th, 
1690. 

1  N.  Y.  Col.  MSS.,  xxvi,  122.  3  O'Callaghan's  Hist.  N.  Netherland,  ii,  184. 

9  Albany  City  Magistrates'  Proceedings  (MS.),  vol.  i,  in  City  Clerk's  office. 


in  the  State  of  New  York. 


68 


(4.)  Luykas  Gerritse  fWingaard]  was  by  trade  a  baker,  and  in  1715 
occupied  the  south  corner  of  Broadway  and  State  street.  His  wife 
was  Anna  Janse  Yan  Hoesen.  They  had  five  sons  and  one  daughter. 
He  made  his  will  Oct.  30th,  1709. 

We  have  been  indebted  to  Eev.  Dr.  Strong's  "  History  of  Flatbush" 
for  a  few  items  relating  to  the  Dutch  period ;  and  we  now  quote  at 
greater  length  from  the  same  valuable  little  work,  showing  the  cus- 
toms of  the  olden  time  in  regard  to  schools  and  schoolmasters : 

From  the  records  of  the  town  [Flatbush],  it  appears  that  the 
schoolmaster  acted  as  Town  Clerk,  and  as  the  rates  of  tuition 
were  low,  previously  to  the  American  revolution,-  the  offices  of 
sexton  and  "  Foresinger,"  or  chorister  of  the  church,  were 
conferred  upon  him  with  a  view  to  increase  his  emoluments.  He 
received  all  interment  fees  for  infants  and  adults,  according  to  a 
scale  of  established  prices,  and  for  his  services  as  chorister,  he  was 
paid  an  annual  salary  by  the  consistory  of  the  church.  The  choris- 
ter, in  addition  to  his  duty  of  taking  the  lead  in  setting  and  singing 
the  Psalms  and  Hymns,  was  also  required  to  ring  the  bell  for  all  pub- 
lic services,  to  read  the  commandments  at  the  commencement  of  the 
morning  worship,  and  the  Apostles'  creed  in  the  afternoon.  These 
latter  services  were  all  performed  in  the  Dutch  language,  and  uni- 
formly continued  so  until  about  the  year  1790,  at  the  time  when  Mr. 
Gabriel  Ellison,  the  first  English  schoolmaster,  left  the  village. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  schoolmasters  of  the  town  of  Flatbush, 
from  the  year  1659  to  the  year  1802,  when  the  village  school  was 
removed  into  the  Academy  : 

Adrian  Hegeman from  1659 

Jacop  Joosten "  1671 

Francays  De  Burvnne  [Bruynne] "  1673 

Michael  Hainelle" '. . "  1674 

Jan  Gerrit  Yan  Marckje  [Marcken] "  1675 

Derick  Storm "  1680 

Jan  Tiebout «  1681 

Johannes  Yan  Eckkellen "  1682 

Johannes  Schenck "  1700 

Jan  Gancell "  1711 

Adrian  Hegeman "  1719 

Jores  Remsen  "  1741 

Petrus  Yan  Steenburgh "  1762 

Anthony  Welp "  1773 

GabrielEUison "  1776 

John  Rubell "  1790 

Michael  Schoonmaker "  1793 

Patrick  Dillon . "  1798 

Patrick  Noon "  


to  1671 

<  1673 

<  1674 

<  1675 

<  1680 

<  1681 

<  1682 

<  1700 

<  1711 

<  1719 

<  1741 

<  1762 

<  1773 

<  1776 

<  1790 

<  1793 

<  1798 


18021 


1  Strong's  Hist,  of  Flatbush,  p.  100  et  seq. 


64  Annals  of  Public  Education 

It  appears,  as  already  shown  in  connection  with  the  Dutch  period, 
that  one  Keinier  was  schoolmaster  in  16611;  and  we  also  find  that  a 
patent  for  1426  acres  of  land,  in  Flatbush,  was  granted  March  21> 
1677,  to  sundry  persons,  thirty-five  in  number,  among  whom  was 
"  Rem  Remse,  the  schoolmaster  for  the  time  being,  in  his  official 
capacity."2  These  two  names,  therefore,  seem  also  entitled  to  a  place 
in  the  foregoing  list  of  schoolmasters  of  Flatbush. 

Hon.  Teunis  G.  Bergen,  of  Bay  Eidge,  Kings  county,  has  favored 
us  with  the  following  statements  in  regard  to  some  of  the  persons 
mentioned  in  Dr.  Strong's  list : 

Adriaen  liegeman,  the  first  schoolmaster  of  Flatbush  [of  whom  a 
biographical  sketch  is  given  in  the  "  Annals  "  of  the  Dutch  period, 
p.  49],  was  also,  from  1670  to  1671,  vendue  master  of  the  Dutch 
towns  of  Kings  county.  .  .  .  liegeman's  descendants  are  as  yet 
numerous  in  Flatbush,  and  Kings  county. 

Francays  d'Bruynne,  schoolmaster  prior  to  his  settlement  in  Flat- 
bush, owned  Antony  Jansen  van  Salee's  patent  of  100  morgen  on 
the  extreme  west  end  of  Long  Island,  lying  partly  in  New  Utrecht 
and  partly  in  Gravesend. 

Michil  Hainelle,  schoolmaster,  owned  a  farm  (as  well  as  being  a 
schoolmaster). 

Jan  Gerritsen  Yan  Marcken,  schoolmaster,  finally  quarrelled  with 
the  church  authorities  and  was  dismissed.  (Have  somewhere  among 
my  papers  considerable  relating  to  this  quarrel.) 

Schoolmasters  Dirck  Storm,  Johannes  Yan  Ekelen  and  Johannes 
Schenk's  facsimiles  of  signature  accompany  this.  From  the  facsimiles 
you  will  see  that  Strong  errs  in  the  spelling  of  names.  The  spellings 
I  have  given  above  are  the  correct  ones. 

****** 

"  Know  of  no  male  descendants  of  De  Bruynne,  Hainelle,  Yan 
Marcken,  Yan  Ekelen  or  De  Baene,  in  Kings  county.  Storm,  Schenk 
(now  generally  spelled  Schenck),  and  De  Beavois,  of  Brooklyn,  have 
numerous  descendants  in  the  county." 

****** 

Know  of  no  manuscript  records  on  the  subject  except  those  you 
have  referred  to. 

****** 

Dr.  Strong's  narrative  continues : 

Specific  and  very  particular  agreements  were  made  with  the  seve- 
ral schoolmasters,  which  are  entered  at  large  upon  the  town  records. 
It  may  be  interesting  to  present  one  or  two  of  these,  to  show  the 
duties  which  these  persons  formerly  were  required  to  perform,  and 
the  manner  in  which  they  were  to  instruct  the  children.     The  fol- 

1  Albany  Records,  xix,  95. 

9  Book  of  Patents  (MS.),  in  office  of  Secretary  of  State,  iv,  165. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  65 

lowing  is  a  translation  of  the  agreement  made  with  Johannes  Yan 
Eckkelen,  who  commenced  his  duties  as  schoolmaster,  in  Flatbush,  in 
the  year  1682  :  -^ 

"  Johannes  Yan  Eckkelen,  a  young  man  from  New  Albany,  is 
hereby  called  and  accepted,  on  the  first  day  of  October,  1681,  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Honorable  Magistrates,  to  perform  the 
duties  heretofore  required  of  Jan  Thibaud,  in  manner  following: 
(1.)  He  shall  serve  the  Church  and  School,  according  to  the  existing 
ordinances,  in  the  same  manner  as  they  have  been  heretofore  per- 
formed by  the  above  named  Jan  Thibaud,  and  as  hereunder  written. 
(2.)  This  contract  shall  take  effect  from  the  first  day  of  October,  Inst., 
and  continue  to  the  first  day  of  May  next,  for  the  purpose  of  making 
a  trial  of  each  other  in  the  meantime.  (3.)  For  the  performance  of 
the  above  duties,  he  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  the  sum  of  234  guild- 
ers, in  grain,  valued  in  Seewant,  with  the  other  privileges  appertain- 
ing to  the  calling  during  the  time  specified." 

ARTICLES  OF  AGREEMENT 

WITH 

Johannes  Yan  Eckkelen, 

Accepted  Schoolmaster  and  Chorister  of  Flatbush. 

School  Service. — I.  The  school  shall  begin  at  eight  o'clock,  and  go 
out  at  eleven ;  and  in  the  afternoon  shall  begin  at  one  o'clock  and 
end  at  four.     The  bell  shall  be  rung  when  the  school  commences.1 

II.  When  the  school  begins,  one  of  the  children  shall  read  the 
morning  prayer,  as  it  stands  in  the  catechism,  and  close  with  the 
prayer  before  dinner  ;  in  the  afternoon  it  shall  begin  with  the  prayer 
after  dinner,  and  end  with  the  evening  prayer.  The  evening  school 
shall  begin  with  the  Lord's  prayer,  and  close  by  singing  a  psalm. 

III.  He  shall  instruct  the  children  on  every  Wednesday  and  Satur- 
day in  the  common  prayers,  and  the  questions  and  answers  in  the 
catechism,  to  enable  them  to  repeat  them  the  better  on  Sunday  before 
the  afternon  service,  or  on  Monday,  when  they  shall  be  catechised 
before  the  congregation.  Upon  all  such  occasions,  the  schoolmaster 
shall  be  present,  and  shall  require  the  children  to  be  friendly  in  their 
appearance,  and  encourage  them  to  answer  freely  and  distinctly. 

IY.  He  shall  be  required  to  keep  his  school  nine  months  in  succes- 
sion, from  September  to  June,  in  each  year,  in  case  it  should  be  con- 
cluded upon  to  retain  his  services  for  a  year  or  more,  or  without 
limitation ;  and  he  shall  be  required  to  be  regulated  by  these  articles, 
and  to  perform  the  same  duties  which  his  predecessor,  Jan  Thibaud, 
above  named,  was  required  to  perforin.  In  every  particular  therefore, 
he  shall  be  required  to  keep  school,  according  to  this  seven  months 
agreement,  and  shall  always  be  present  himself. 

1  The  bell  used  on  these  occasions  was  the  church  bell.  The  practice  of  ringing 
this  bell  at  the  opening  of  the  school  continued  till  the  year  1794,  when  the  second 
church  was  taken  down.  The  church  bell  was  also  used  by  the  Academy  for  nearly 
ten  years     (Dr.  Strong.) 


(j6  Annals  of  Public  Education 

Church  Service. — I.  He  shall  keep  the  church  clean,  and  ring  the 
bell  three  times  before  the  people  assemble  to  attend  the  preaching 
and  catechism.  Also  before  the  sermon  is  commenced,  he  shall  read 
a  chapter  out  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  that  between  the  second 
and  third  ringing  of  the  bell.  After  the  third  ringing  he  shall  read 
the  ten  commandments,  and  the  twelve  articles  of  our  faith,  and  then 
take  the  lead  in  singing.  In  the  afternoon  after  the  third  ringing  of 
the  bell,  he  shall  read  a  short  chapter,  or  one  of  the  Psalms  of  David, 
,t-  the  congregation  are  assembling,  and  before  divine  service  com- 
mences, shall  introduce  it,  by  the  singing  of  a  Psalm  or  Hylmn. 

II.  When  the  minister  shall  preach  at  Brooklin  or  New  Utrecht,  he 
shall  be  required  to  read  twice  before  the  congregation,  from  the 
book  commonly  used  for  that  purpose.  In  the  afternoon  he  shall 
also  read  a  sermon  on  the  explanation  of  the  catechism,  according  to 
the  usage  and  practice  approved  by  the  minister.  The  children  as 
usual,  shall  recite  their  questions  and  answers  out  of  the  catechism, 
on  Sunday,  and  he  shall  instruct  them  therein.  He,  as  chorister,  shall 
not  be  required  to  perform  these  duties,  whenever  divine  service  shall 
be  performed  in  Flatlands,  as  it  would  be  unsuitable,  and  prevent 
many  from  attending  there. 

III.  For  the  administration  of  Holy  Baptism,  he  shall  provide  a 
basin  with  water,  for  which  he  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  from  the 
parents,  or  witnesses,  twelve  styvers.  He  shall,  at  the  expense  of 
the  church,  provide  bread  and  wine,  for  the  celebration  of  the  Holy 
Supper ;  He  shall  be  in  duty  bound  promptly  to  furnish  the  minister 
with  the  name  of  the  child  to  be  baptized,  and  with  the  names  of 
the  parents  and  witnesses.  And  he  shall  also  serve  as  messenger  for 
the  consistory. 

IV.  He  shall  give  the  funeral  invitations,  dig  the  grave ;  and  toll 
the  bell,  for  which  service  he  shall  receive  for  a  person  of  fifteen 
years  and  upward,  twelve  guilders,  and  for  one  under  that  age,  eight 
guilders.  If  he  should  be  required  to  give  invitations  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  town,  he  shall  be  entitled  to  three  additional  guilders, 
for  the  invitation  of  every  other  town,  and  if  he  should  be  required 
to  cross  the  river,  and  go  to  New  York,  he  shall  receive  four  guilders. 

School  Money. — He  shall  receive  from  those  who  attend  the  day 
school,  for  a  speller  or  reader,  three  guilders  a  quarter,  and  for  a 
writer,  four  guilders.  From  those  who  attend  evening  school,  for  a 
speller  or  reader,  four  guilders,  and  for  a  writer,  six  guilders  shall  be 
given. 

Salary. — In  addition  to  the  above,  his  salary  shall  consist  of  four 
hundred  guilders,  in  grain,  valued  in  Seewant,  to  be  delivered  at 
Brooklyn  Ferry,  and  for  his  services  from  October  to  May,  as  above 
stated,  a  sum  of  two  hundred  and  thirty-four  guilders,  in  the  same 
kind,  with  the  dwelling  house,  barn,  pasture  lot  and  meadows,  to  the 
school  appertaining.  The  same  to  take  effect  from  the  first  day  of 
October,  Instant. 

Done  and  agreed  upon  in  Consistory,  under  the  inspection  of  the 
Honorable  Constable  and  Overseers,  the  8th  of  October,  1682. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  v    67 

CONSTABLE  AND  OVERSEERS.  THE   CONSISTORY. 

CORNELIUS  BERKIAN.  CASPARUS  VAN  ZUREN,  Minister. 

RYNIER  AERTSEN.  ADRIAEN  REYERSE. 

JAN  REMSEN.  CORNELIUS  BARENT  VANDWYCK. 

I  agree  to  the  above  articles,  and  promise  to  perform  them  to  the 
best  of  my  ability. 

JOHANNES  VAN  ECKKELEN. 

Mr.  Henry  Onderdonk,  Jr.,  has  furnished  a  newspaper  copy  of  an 
agreement  with  Jan  Tiebout,  similar  to  but  not  identical  with  Yan 
Eckelen's.  He  adds :  "  It  has  a  misprint  that  I  can't  decipher.  I 
have  underscored  the  line :  fore-noon  house  rule." 

Articles  of  Agreement  with  Jan  Thobald  or  Tibout,  employed 
Schoolmaster  and  Reader  for  Flatbush,  made  on  the  18th  Dec, 
1681. 

-Relating  to  the  School. 

1.  The  school  to  begin  at  8  o'clock  and  be  dismissed  at  11  in  the 
a.  m.  ;  at  1  o'clock  and  dismissed  at  4  in  the  p.  m.  The  bell  to  be 
rung  by  the  Teacher  at  the  opening  of  the  school. 

2.  On  the  opening  of  the  school  in  the  a.  m.,  one  of  the  children 
to  read  the  morning  prayer  as  contained  in  the  catechism,  and  at  its 
closing  the  prayer  before"  eating ;  at  the  opening  in  the  p.  m.,  the 
prayer  after  eating,  and  [at]  its  closing  the  evening  prayer.  The  even- 
ing school  to  begin  with  the  Lord's  prayer  and  to  close  with  one  of  the 
psalms  of  David. 

3.  He  shall  require  the  children  in  the  evenings  to  learn  the  ordi- 
nary prayers,  together  with  the  catechism,  and  on  Wednesdays  and 
Saturdays  hear  their  recitations  of  the  same ;  also  on  Sundays  prior 
to  the  p.  m.  service,  so  that  they  may  be  prepared  to  recite  on  Mon- 
days before  the  congregation,  at  which  recitation  he  is  to  be  present. 
He  must  conduct  himself  orderly  and  soberly,  and  have  patience  with 
the  children,  to  the  end  that  he  may  learn  them  as  in  duty  bound. 

Relating  to  Church  Service. 

1st.'  He  shall  keep  the  church  clean,  and  ring  the  bell  three  times 
to  bring  the  congregation  together  for  preaching  or  chatecising 
on  Sundays  before  service,  to  read  a  chapter  in  the  Bible  between  the 
second  and  third  ringing  ;  after  the  third  ringing  to  read  the  ten 
commandments  and  the  twelve  articles  of  faith ;  and  to  lead  in  all 
the  singing.  In  the  afternoon,  after  the  third  ringing,  to  read  a 
short  chapter  out  of  the  Psalms  of  David,  while  the  congregation  are 
gathering  together,  so  as  to  have  them  enter  with  a  Christian  song. 

2nd.  when  the  ministers  turn  is  to  preach  at  Brooklyn  or  New 
Utrecht,  he  will  be  held  to  read  twice  ;  the  books  to  be  used  to  be  in 
accordance  with  the  forenoon  house  rule ;  the  preaching  over,  the 
chatechism  to  be  attended  to  in  the  afternoon,  the  children  to  be 
gathered  together  and  to  answer  from  the  Sunday  lesson  ;  he  will  be 

1  Strong's  Hist,  of  Flatbush,  pp.  110-114, 


68  Annals  of  Public  Education 

excused  from  the  above  service  when  the  preaching  is  at  Flatlands, 
for  then  it  will  be  unnecessary. 

3.  He  shall  invite  the  people  to  funerals,  dig  the  grave,  and  ring 
the  bell,  for  which  he  shall  be  entitled  to  12  guilders  for  persons  of  15 
years  old  and  upwards,  and  8  guilders  for  those  under.  When  called 
to  act  outside  his  town  on  Long  Island,  to  be  entitled  to  three  guild- 
ers in  addition  ;  and  when  acting  in  Kew  York  or  across  the  river  4 
guilders. 

Mr.  Onderdonk's  newspaper  article  further  states  : 

Tibout  was  a  successor  of  Jan  Gerritsz  Van  Marken,  the  latter 
being  one  of  the  early  schoolmasters  of  Flatbush,  and  readers  of  the 
4  Dutch  towns,  whose  salary  was  350  guilders.  Gerritsz  was  dis- 
charged for  slandering  Yan  Zuuren  the  Minister,  for  frequenting  the 
tavern  and  neglecting  the  Church  orders. 

The  yearly  compensation  of  Tibout,  the  schoolmaster  and  reader, 
was  400  guilders,  zeewands  value,  in  corn,  delivered  at  the  ferry  in 
Brooklyn  ;  he  was  also  entitled  to  the  use  of  the  dwelling  house  pro- 
vided for  the  teacher,  about  an  acre  of  tillable  land,  a  pasture  field 
and  salt  meadow  lot  belonging  to  the  school. 

The  price  of  tuition  was  fixed  at  3  guilders  a  quarter  in  the  day 
school,  for  reading  and  spelling ;  including  writing,  4  guilders ;  in 
the  evening  school,  for  reading  and  spelling,  4  guilders;  including 
writing,  6  guilders.     A  guilder  is  40  cents. 

We  are  likewise  indebted  to  Mr.  Onderdonk  for  the  following 
extracts  from  the  account  book  of  Jno.  Bowne,  of  Flushing : 


School  Bills. 

1680  -fj-.  Keckoned  with  Hugh  and  Elizabeth  Cowperth- 
waite  and  then  left  due  about  work  [by  him] 
and  schooling  [by  her]   £1     1     0 


168-J  |f.     Reckoned  with  Elizabeth  Cowperthwaite  about 
schooling  and  diet  for  children  &  rests  due 

her  £0  17    6 

More  since  for  schooling 0  12     0 

£19     6 


1683.  Martha  Johanna  did  begin  school  on  a  new  acct,  V?  upon 

an  agreement  for  30  weeks  for  schooling  and  what  else, 
which  is  paid  for  by  a  red  petticoat1,  bought  of  Jn° 
Broke. 

1  Money  (coin  or  paper)  was  little  used,  but  barter  took  its  place. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  (39 

1692  r4T.     Jn°  Arcut  [Arsocot  ?],  Cr. 

By  my  promise  for  one  year  schoolpng]  ......  £1  1  0 

By  some  writing  done  for  me 0  10  0 

For  John,  his  last  schooling,  4  months 0  6  2 

For  William's  children 0  12  0 

For  John,  one  quarter 0  4  6 

£2  13     8 

1693  -V-.    Wm.  Kichardson's  estate,  Dr. 

Paid  to  Jn°  Urquhart  for  the  3  boys  school- 
ing at  5s.  each £0  15     0 

By  four  weeks'  diet  for  the  2  oldest  sons,  Wm. 
and  Thomas,  and  for  John,  7  weeks,  at  2s. 
6d 1  17     6 

More  for  schooling  to  Urquhart 0     8     9 

The  following  memoranda  were  also  furnished  by  Mr.  Onderdonk : 

1685.  Goody  Davis  keeps  school  at  Jamaica,  in  Jn°  Rodes'  little 
house  which  is  to  be  removed  for  a  shop. 

Rachel   Spencer  taught  school  at  Hempstead,  died  1687. 
1695.  Isaac  Selover  was  schoolmaster  and  foresinger  at  Flatlands. 

The  "  Rachel  Spencer  "  above  mentioned  seems  to  have  been  the 
first  schoolmistress  on  record  in  the  province. 

It  having  been  repeatedly  observed,  in  the  annals  of  the  Dutch 
period,  that  all  private  schoolmasters  were  required  to  be  duly 
licensed  by  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities,  we  have  occasion 
now  to  remark  that  this  requirement,  in  substance,  was  continued 
and  enforced  by  the  English ;  Governor  Dongan,  and  at  least  three 
of  his  successors,  having  been  regularly  instructed  on  this  point,  in 
connection  with  other  subjects.     We  quote  as  follows  : 

Instructions  to  Governor  Dongan.     Given  at  Windsor  May  29th, 

1686. 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

38.  And  wee  doe  further  direct  that  noe  Schoolmaster  bee  hence- 
forth permitted  to  come  from  England  &  to  keep  school  within  Our 
Province  of  New  York  without  the  license  of  the  said  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury ;  And  that  noe  other  person  now  there  or  that  shall  come 
from  other  parts,  bee  admitted  to  keep  school  without  your  license 
first  had.1 

*  *  *  *  #  * 

Similar  instructions  were  given  to  Governor  Slough ter,  Jan.  31, 
1689,2  to  the  Earl  of  Bellomont,  Aug.  31,  1697,3  and  to  Governor 
Hunter,  Dec.  27th,  1709,4  except  that  the  Bishop  of  London,  instead 

1  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  iii,  372.  •  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  iv,  288. 

1 N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  iii,  688.  4  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc^^iBp^T^^ 

f^         OF  THE        ^\ 

I  UNIVERSITY  1 


70  Annals  of  Public  Education 

of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  was  named  in  each  of  these 
cases. 

In  regard  to  this  subject,  Mr.  Henry  Onderdonk,  Jr.,  has  advised  as 
that  "  the  licensing  of  schoolmasters  originated  in  a  law  of  Parlia- 
ment, in  England,  who  feared  Popish  priests  and  Jesuits  might 
assume  the  guise  of  teachers  to  disseminate  their  principles  more 
insidiously  among  unsuspecting  pupils." 

The  "  law  of  Parliament "  thus  referred  to,  seems  to  be  that  desig- 
nated as  13  and  14  Car.  II,  c.  4,  entitled  "An  act  for  the  Uniformity 
of  public  Prayers,  and  Administration  of  Sacraments,  and  other 
Rites  and  Ceremonies ;  and  for  establishing  the  Form  of  making, 
ordaining,  and  consecrating  Bishops,  Priests,  and  Deacons,  in  the 
Church  of  England."     Section  YIII  of  this  act  provides : 

*  *  Every  School-Master  keeping  any  public  or  private  school, 
and  every  Person  instructing  or  teaching  any  Youth  in  any  House  or 
private  Family  as  a  Tutor  or  School-master,  who  upon  the  first  Day 
of  May  which  shall  be  in  the  Year  of  our  Lord  God  One  thousand 
six  hundred  sixty-two,  or  at  any  Time  thereafter,  shall  be  Incumbent 
or  have  Possession  of  any  .  .  .  School,  or  shall  instruct  or  teach 
any  Youth  as  Tutor  or  School-master,  shall  .  .  .  subscribe  the 
Declaration  or  Acknowledgment  following,  scilicet : 

IX.  [I,  A.  B.,  do  declare,  That  it  is  not  lawful  upon  any  Pretence 
whatsoever  to  take  Arms  against  the  King ;  and  that  I  do  abhor  that 
traiterous  Position  of  taking  Arms  by  His  Authority  against  His 
Person,  or  against  those  that  are  commission  ated  by  him]  ;  and  that 
I  will  conform  to  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England,  as  it  is  now 
by  Law  established  :  And  1  do  declare,  That  I  do  hold  there  lies  no 
Obligation  upon  me  or  on  any  other  Person,  from  the  Oath  com- 
monly called  The  Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  to  endeavour  any 
Change  or  Alteration  of  Government  either  in  Church  or  State ;  and 
that  the  same  was  in  itself  an  unlawful  Oath,  and  imposed  upon  the 
Subjects  of  this  Realm  against  the  known  Laws  and  Liberties  of  this 
Kingdom. 


XL  And  if  any  School-master,  or  other  Person,  instructing  or  teach- 
ing Youth  in  any  private  House  or  Family  as  a  Tutor  or  School-mas- 
ter, shall  instruct  or  teach  any  Youth  as  a  Tutor  or  School-master 
before  Licence  obtained  from  his  respective  Archbishop,  Bishop  or 
Ordinary  of  the  Diocese,  according  to  the  Laws  and  Statutes  of  this 
Realm  (for  which  he  shall  pay  twelve  Pence  only)  and  before  such 
Subscription  and  Acknowledgment  made  as  aforesaid ;  then  every 
such  School-master  and  other,  instructing  and  teaching  as  aforesaid, 
shall  for  the  first  Offence  suffer  three  Months  Imprisonment  without 
Bail  or  Mainprize ;  and  for  every  second  and  other  such  Offence,  shall 

Note.— The  part  included  in  brackets  was  abolished  by  1  W.  &  M.,  sess.  1,  c.  8,  §  11. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  71 

Buffer  three  Months  Imprisonment  without  Bail  or  Mainprize,  and 
also  forfeit  to  His  Majesty  the  Sum  of  five  Pounds  :     * 

The  act  19  Geo.  Ill,  c.  44,  modified  the  provisions  of  the  forego- 
ing statute  in  favor  of  Protestant  dissenters,  as  follows  : 

II.  *  *  No  Dissenting  Minister,  nor  any  other  Protestant  dis- 
senting from  the  Church  of  England,  who  shall  take  the  aforesaid 
Oaths,  and  make  and  subscribe  the  above  mentioned  Declaration 
against  Popery,  and  the  Declaration  hereinbefore  mentioned,  shall  be 
prosecuted  in  any  Court  whatsoever,  for  teaching  and  instructing 
i  outh  as  a  Tutor  or  Schoolmaster,  any  Law  or  Statute  to  the  con- 
trary notwithstanding. 


The  subject  of  education,  like  many  other  matters  of  vital  import- 
ance to  the  welfare  of  the  people,  is  scarcely  noticed  by  some 
standard  historians.  We  had  confidently  expected  that  Smith's  cele- 
brated "  History  of  the  late  province  of  New  York,  from  its  Dis- 
covery to  the  appointment  of  Governor  Colden  in  1762,"  would 
contain  frequent  allusions  which  would  be  of  service  in  the  present 
narrative ;  but  thus  far,  we  find  only  an  incidental  mention  of  the 
establishment  of  a  Latin  school,  in  the  following  paragraph  : 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

[1688.] — While  these  things  were  transacting  in  Canada,  a  scene  of 
the  greatest  importance  was  opening  at  New  York.  A  general  dis- 
affection to  the  government  prevailed  among  the  people.  Papists 
began  to  settle  in  the  colony  under  the  smiles  of  the  governor  [Don- 
gan].  The  collector  of  the  revenues,  and  several  principal  officers, 
threw  off  the  mask,  and  openly  avowed  their  attachment  to  the  doc- 
trines of  Rome.  A  Latin  school  was  set  up,  and  the  teacher  strongly 
suspected  for  a  Jesuit.1 

*  *  #  *  #•  * 

With  reference  to  this  Latin  school,  we  find  the  following  addi- 
tional particulars  brought  to  light  by  the  researches  of  Mr.  John  M. 
Shea: 


Father  Henry  Harrison,  S.  J.,  was  in  N.  York  in  1685,  and 
returned  to  Ireland  in  1690,  and  in  Maryland  in  1697.  Father 
Charles  Gage,  S.  J.,  was  also  employed  there  in  1686  and  7.  It  is 
very  possible  that  these  two  last  named  may  have  been  sent  by  Don- 
gan  to  carry  out  his  promise,  and  that  one  of  them  may  have  opened 
the  very  suspicious  Latin  school,  which  Smith  surmises  was  kept  by 
a  Jesuit.2 

1  Smith's  Hist.  of»N.  Y.  (N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc,  Ed.,  1829),  i.,  90. 
3N.  Y.  Doc.  Hist.,  iii,  73  (4°ed.);  110  (8°ed.). 


72  Annals  of  Public  Education 

We  find  no  further  mention  of  this  school,  except  in  a  letter  dated 
April  13,  1699,  from  the  Earl  of  Bellomont,  then  governor  of  the 
province,  to  the  Lords  of  Trade,  to  wit : 

Mr.  Attorney  G-enerall  assures  me  that  in  Colonel  Dongan's  time, 
he,  to  make  his  court  to  King  James  desired  this  Farm,  .  .  .  the 
Governor's  demesne  called  the  King's  farm,  .  .  .  might  be  appro- 
priated to  the  maintenance  of  a  Jesuit  school ;  but  King  James  (bigot 
tho'  he  was)  refused,  saying  that  he  would  not  have  his  Governors 
deprived  of  their  conveniences.1 

According  to  Dr.  Strong,2  Johannes  Yan  Eckelen  [Ekelen]  officia- 
ted as  schoolmaster  from  1682  to  1700,  though  it  appears,  from  the 
annexed  documents,  that  his  license  was  revoked  in  1691,  in  favor  of 
Johannes  Schenck  [Schenk],  whom  Dr.  Strong  considers  Yan 
Eckelen's  successor  from  the  year  1700  to  1711.  Whether  the  order 
of  the  council  was  not  carried  into  effect,  or  whether  the  above 
named  author  is  in  error  in  regard  to  these  dates,  does  not  appear. 

To  the  honorble  Major  Richard  Ingoldsby,  Comander  in  chief  of  their 

Majesties  Province  of  New  York,  &c. 
The   humble   Request   of  Rodolphus  Yarick,  minister,  and   Joseph 

Hegeman,  elder  of  the  dutch  Church  in  flatbush, 

Humbly  showeth : 

That  in  the  late  Rebellion  Joannes  Yan  Eckelen  the  then  clerk  and 
^schoolmaster  of  flatbush  hath  always  bin  a  very  great  zealot  for  the 
faction  of  Leisler  &c,  as  may  appear  to  yr  honr  yrself  having  taken 
letters  out  of  his  pocket  at  the  citty  hall  which  he  was  carrying  to 
Leisler  into  the  fort,  and  was  very  active  in  raising  men  in  the 
country  to  withstand  their  majesties  forces. 

Especially  the  aforesd  Joanes  Yan  Eckelen  hath  bin  alwayes  oppo- 
sing the  minister  and  church  councel  in  their  endeavors  for  support- 
ing the  Government  for  the  Crown  of  England  and  inticing  people 
to  the  party  of  Leisler  contrary  to  all  their  admonitions,  publicly 
defaming  the  aforesd  minister,  setting  the  common  people  against 
him,  offering  his  service  to  drag  him  out  of  his  house  by  violence  to 
a  pretended  court  as  also  procuring  the  aprehension  and  fining  of  the 
aforesd  elder  for  above  thirty  pounds  because  he  endeavored  to  have 
hindred  their  committing  hostilities  on  the  English  towns  on  long 
Island. 

Upon  thes  considerations  and  others  to  long  to  rehearse,  besides 
other  complaints  as  to  his  service  in  the  aforsd  office,  the  church 
councel  did  dismisse  the  aforesd  Joanes  van  Ekelen  and  did  forbid 
him  more  to  officiate,  but  choose  in  his  place  one  Joannes  Schenck  a 
fitter  person  and  wel  affected  to  the  present  government, 

Now  yr  petition™  give  yr  honour  to  understand  that  sd  Joanes  van 
Ekelen  hath  clandestinely  and  without  any  of  their  knowledge  pro- 

1  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  iv.,  490  2  Hist,  of  Flatbush,  p.  109. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  73 

cured  a  licence  from  yr  honour,  whereby  he  again  sets  up  school  in 
defyance  of  their  church  and  accustomed  priviledges,  refusing  to 
obey  the  civil  power  but  dayly  affronting  them  whereby  he  drawes 
many  of  the  late  faction  to  his  side  to  the  manifest  Scandal  of  their 
majesties  present  government  and  since  it  hath  never  bin  accustomed 
to  have  two  Schoolmasters  in  that  small  town  heretofore  yr  petition1"8 
humbly  pray  yr  honor  that  sd  Joanes  van  Ekelen  may  be  forbid  farther 
to  teach  school  in  natbush  and  that  yr  honour  would  please  to 
authorize  Joanes  Schenck  to  be  the  onely  schoolmaster  there,  for  the 
reasons  above  sd,  and  yr  petition1"8  shall  ever  pray  for  yr  honrs  health 
and  happinesse. 

JOSEPH  HEGEMAN,  Elder.    KODOLPHUS  VAKICK.1 

The  foregoing  petition  bears  no  date,  but  was  submitted  to  the 
council  Sept.  26,  1691,  as  appears  from  the  following  minute.  The 
•petition  is  indorsed  "granted"  with  which  the  council  minute 
agrees : 

At  a  council  held  at  ffort  William  Henry  the  26th  of  September, 
1691. 

Present,  [     *     *     etc.,] 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

Upon  Reading  the  Petition  of  Podolphus  Varick  &  Others,  setting 
forth  their  want  of  an  honest  schoolmaster  Recommending  Johannes 
Schenck  as  a  person  qualifyed  &  fitt  for  that  Office  in  matbush 
Ordered  that  sd  Schenck  be  admitted  the  only  schoolmaster  of  mat- 
bush  any  former  ordr  or  warrant  to  any  oyr  2  person  whatsoever  not- 
withstanding.3 

*****  * 

Mr.  Bergen,  from  whom  we  have  already  quoted,  further  states  : 

The  first  schoolmaster  in  Kew  Utrecht  of  whom  I  have  seen  any 
account,  is  Joost  De  Baene. 

After  Gov.  Leisler's  Execution,  Domine  Varick  and  Jacques  Cor- 
tleyou  petitioned  the  Governor  to  have  Joost  De  Baene  retained  as 
teacher  in  New  Utrecht ;  Myndert  Coerten  having  threatened  to  turn 
him  out  of  his  place  as  schoolmaster  and  Reader  or  Prelector,  because 
he  would  not  side  with  the  Leisler  party.  Coerten's  adherents  finally 
compelled  De  Baene  to  leave  the  place.  From  De  Baene's  serving 
as  clerk  of  the  town  from  1686  to  1698,  it  may  fairly  be  inferred  that 
he  taught  the  school  during  that  period,  and  perhaps  a  short  time 
longer.     Have  seen  no  account  of  De  Baene's  successors. 

The  petition  above  referred  to,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy, 
is  preserved  among  the  manuscripts  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of 

»N.Y.  Col.  MSS.,  xxxviii,  4. 

2  A  curious  abreviation  for  " other"  which  is  explained  by  the  fact  that  h  was 
formerly  written  somewhat  like  the  lower  part  of  long  s  ;  so  that  ih,  as  in  "  other  " 
came  to  be  written  (by  omitting  to  cross  the  t  and  other  contractions)  very  nearly 
like  y. 

•l  Council  Minutes  (MS.,  in  office  of  Sec'y  of  State),  vi,  55. 


74  Annals  of  Public  Education 

State.     It  bears  no  date,  but  was  laid  before  the  Council  July  16, 
1692. 

To  the  Right  Honnble  Majr  Kichard  Ingoldsbey  Esqr.,  Command1"  in 
Chief  of  the  Province  of  1ST.  Yorke,  and  the  honnble  Councell. 

The  humble  Petition  of  Jaques  Cortlejouir  Justice  of  the  peace  and 
Rudolphus"  Yarick  minister  of  the  Gospel  in  Kings  County, 
Humble  Shewith 

That  in  the  time  of  the  Late  disorders  within  ye  Province  one 
Meyndert  Coerten  lately  attainted  of  high  Treason  was  marching  with 
some  ill  men  from  New  Utregt  towards  the  fort  ag8t  the  Kings  forces, 
under  your  honn8  Command  who  then  did  threaten  Joost  De  Baane 
ye  Schoolmaster  &  reader  of  said  towne  to  turne  him  out  of  that 
Imploy  because  he  refused  to  side  with  them  in  theire  Rebellion,  and 
although  the  said  Justice  and  minister  since  that  time  have  endea- 
vored to  hinder  the  same  yet  neverthelesse  some  of  those  ill  affected' 
persons  without  any  cause  given,  but  in  contempt  of  the  authority, 
have  forced  the  said  Joost  de  Baane  to  forsake  the  place,  altho  ye  land 
out  of  which  the  Schoolmaster  and  Reader  of  ye  Towne  is  maintained, 
was  given  to  the  Towne,  by  the  said  Justice,  out  of  his  proper  estate. 

Wherefore  the  Petit™  have  thought  it  their  Duty  to  become  hum- 
ble Suppliants  in  the  behalfe  of  ye  Said  Joost  de  Baane,  humble  offer- 
ing to  your  honnrs  that  it  would  tend  much  to  ye  peace  &  quiet  of  the 
said  Towne  that  your  honn1*8  would  be  pleased  to  order,  that  ye  Said 
Joost  d  Baane  be  continued  in  the  said  Imploy  as  Schoolmaster  & 
Reader  of  the  said  Towne,  and  that  he  be  allowed  his  Salary  as  for- 
merly from  the  14th  of  aprill  last,  Since  which  time  he  was  Causeles 
turned  out. 

And  your  Petitrs  shall  Ever  Pray.1 

The  record  of  the  action  of  the  Council  is  as  follows : 

At  a  Council  held  at  ffort  William  Henry  the  16th  of  July  1692, 
****** 

Ypon  reading  of  the  Petition  of  Jaquis  Cortilian  [Corteljon]  and 
Rodolphus  Yarick  on  behalf  of  Joost  De  Bane  [Baene]  schoolmaster 
of  New  Utrecht  in  Ks  County, 

Resolved  That  A  Lysence  be  granted  unto  the  said  Joost  De  Bane 
to  be  schoolmaster  of  New  Ytrecht,  and  that  he  is  intituled  to  and  Ought 
to  receive  the  salary  belonging  to  the  Reader  and  school  Master  of 
sd  Towne  from  the  14th  of  Aprill  last  and  the  Justices  be  wrote  to 
and  required  to  suffer  none  other  to  Officiate  in  the  quality  of  a 
schoolmaster  in  the  sd  Toune  without  a  Lycense  from  the  Govern- 
ment nor  in  the  quality  of  Reader  but  by  the  appointment  of  the 
Minister.2 

*  *  *  *  '   *  * 

We  are  indebted  to  Wm.  S.  Pelletreau,  Esq.,  of  Southampton,  L.  I., 
for  the  following  statement : 

1 N.  Y.  CoL-MSS.,  xxxviii,  154.  2  Council  Minutes  (MS.),  vi,  111. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  75 

1694.  Mr.  John  Moubray  was  engaged  to  teach  a  school  from  the 
1st  day  of  May  till  the  1st  of  November  for  12  shillings  per  scholar. 
He  had  22  pupils.  From  that  time  there  appears  to  have  been  a 
school  more  or  less  regular  until  the  present  time.1 

The  records  of  this  town  [Southampton,  L.  I.]  are  the  most  perfect 
of  any  in  the  State,  and  well  repay  examination. 

Thus  far,  the  licenses  to  teach  school  have  uniformly  been  issued 
by  the  authority  of  the  Colonial  officers ;  but  we  now  find  one 
granted  by  municipal  authority,   as  early  as  January,  1700,  at  the 

present  capital  of  the  State : 

*  *  ■*  ■*  *  * 

Att  a  meeting  of  ye  Mayor,  Aldermen  and  Common  Council  held  in 
ye  Citty  Hall  of  Albany,  ye  23d  of  January  If || 
The  request  of  Cornelis  Bogardus  by  ye  mouth  of  Mr.  Willm  de 
Meyer  to  be  admitted  a  schoolmaster  for  ye  Citty  is  taken  into  con- 
sideration and  unanimously  doe  graunt  ye  same,  as  also  a  freeman  of 
this  Citty  upon  his  arrival!.2 

During  the  same  year  (1700),  Governor  Bellomont  proposed  to 
have  some  of  the  Indian  children  instructed  at  the  public  expense,  as 
appears  from  the  annexed  records  : 

Conference  of  the  Earl  of  Bellomont  with  the  Indians,  at  Albany, 
August  29,  1700. 

•fc  ¥r  #  -5f  *  •* 

The  Earl  of  Belomont  says  upon  the  reply  of  the  Five  Nations 
yesterday  to  his  Lordship's  propositions  the  day  before,  as  follows  : 

*  *  *  *  #  # 

In  answer  to  your  desire  of  a  Minister  Jiere  in  Albany,  to  instruct 
you  in  the  Christian  religion,  I  am  not  only  willing  but  glad  to 
gratify  you  therein,  and  I  will  engage  Mr.  Lydius  the  Minister  of 
this  town  to  take  paines  with  you  and  learn  your  language  that  he 
may  be  the  better  able  to  serve  you  in  the. work  of  the  gospell,  and  I 
hope  in  a  little  time  to  have  the  Bible  translated  into  your  language 
and  to  have  some  of  your  children  taught  to  read,  so  that  you  may 
have  the  comfort  and  edification  of  God's  Word,  which  I  am  sure 
will  be  hugely  pleasing  to  you  when  your  children  are  able  to  read  it 
to  you.  Now  that  I  am  upon  this  subject,  I  wish  you  would  send 
two  or  three  Sachems  sonns  out  of  each  Nation  to  be  kept  at  School 
at  New  York  where  I  will  take  care  to  have  them  taught  to  write 
and  read  both  English  and  Indian,  and  they  shall  be  well  clothed  and 
dyeted  at  the  King's  charge  and  after  three  or  four  yeares  that  they 
are  perfect  in  their  writing  &  reading  they  shall  return  home  to  you 
and  other  boyes  shall  come  in  their  places ;  by  which  meanes  you  will 
always  have  those  among  you  that  will  understand  English  and  will 
be  serviceable  to  you  upon  many  occasions.3 

1  See,  also,  Howell's  Hist,  of  Southampton,  p.  141. 

Q  Munsell's  Annals,  iv,  106.  3  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  iv,  734. 


76  Annals  of  Public  Education 

The  following  partial  replies  were  given  by  Sadeganaktie,  the 
speaker  at  the  next  day's  conference  : 

*  *■  *  #  *  * 

As  to  that  head  relating  to  our  children's  being  instructed  to  reade 
and  write  English  and  Indian  at  New  York,  the  Sachems  that  are 
now  on  the  hill  are  consulting  about  it,  and  wee  will  when  wee  are 
all  conveen'd  together,  return  your  Lordship  our  answer.1 
****** 

After  a  while  a  Message  being  come  from  the  Hill  from  the  other 
Sachems  of  the  Five  Nations,  and  the  Speaker  sayd  as  follows : 

*  *  *  *  #-  *  * 

As  to  our  children  to  be  sent  to  New  York  to  bee  instructed  to 
read  and  write,  wee  answer  that  wee  are  not  masters  or  disposers  of 
them ;  that  is  a  matter  that  relates  to  our  wives,  who  are  the  sole  dis- 
posers of  their  children  while  they  are  under  age.2 

We  have  not  observed  any  record  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
above  proposition  was  received  by  the  Indian  women,  or  whether  it 
was  actually  communicated  to  them. 

The  earliest  legislative  act  in  behalf  of  education  passed  within  the 
colony  of  New  York,  if  we  mistake  not,  is  that  entitled  "  An  Act 
for  Encouragement  of  a  Grammar  Free-School  in  the  City  of  New 
York,"  bearing  date  Nov.  27,  1702.  This  act  expired  seven  years 
later,  by  its  own  limitation,  and  having  thus  become  obsolete  before 
any  of  the  extant  collections  of  laws  were  printed,  only  its  title 
appears  in  such  standard  compilations  as  Livingston  and  Smith's.3 
Indeed,  we  have  failed  to  find  a  printed  cppy  in  the  State  Library  or 
elsewhere,  and  have  been  obliged  to  make  our  transcript  from  the 
original  copy  of  the  act,  as  filed  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of 
State.  The  same  remark  applies  to  the  several  subsequent  acts 
passed  prior  to  1750. 

An  Act  for  encouragement  of  A  Grammar  Free-School  in  the  City 

of  New  York. 

The  Mayor,  Aldermen  and  Comonalty  of  the  City  of  New  York 
having  Represented  unto  the  General  Assembly  of  this  Province  the 
great  Necessity  there  is  of  , having  a  Free-School  in  the  said  City,  for 
the  Educacon  and  Instruction  of  youth  and  male  Children ;  That 
such  Pious  and  Necessary  work  may  receive  due  encouragement,  Be 
it  Enacted  by  his  Excellency  the  Covernov,r  and  Council  and  Repre- 
sentatives Convened  in  General  Assembly,  and  by  Authority  of  the 
Same,  that  there   shall  be    hereafter  Elected,   Chosen.  Ly censed, 

1  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  iv,  737.  3  See  chap,  cxx,  p.  51. 

2N.  Y.  Col.  Doc.,  iv,  738. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  77 

Authorized,  and  appointed  one  able  Skilfull  and  Orthodox  person  to 
be  School-Master ;  for  the  Education  and  Instruction  of  youth  and 
Male  Children  of  such  Parents  as  are  of  ffrench  and  Dutch  Extrac- 
tion, as  well  as  of  the  English,  may  come  and  be  Instructed  in  the 
Languages  or  other  Learning  usually  taught  in  Grammar  Schools,  And 
for  the  Encouragement  of  such  School-Master,  Be  it  further  Enacted 
by  the  Authority  aforesaid,  That  henceforward  Annually  there  shall 
be  in  the  said  City  Assessed,  Levyed,  Collected  and  paid  for  the 
space  or  term  of  seven  years,  the  Sum  of  ffifty  pounds  Current  money 
of  New  York  for  the  mainteinance  of  the  said  School-Master,  which 
said  Sum  of  ffifty  pounds  shall  be  Assessed,  Levyed,  Collected  and 
paid  by  such  persons,  at  such  times,  in  such  Manner  and  proportions, 
and  under  such  penaltyes  Respectively  as  is  provided  for  the  Assess- 
ing, Levying,  Collecting  and  paying  of  the  Sum  of  one  hundred  pounds 
p.  ann.  for  the  Minister  of  New  York,  by  an  Act  of  Assembly 
Intitutled,  an  Act  for  Settling  a  Ministry,  and  Raising  a  Maintei- 
nance for  them  in  the  City  of  Sew  York,  County  of  Richmond,  West 
Chester  and  Queens  County,  made  in  the  fourth  Year  of  King  Wil- 
liam and  Queen  Mary,  Provided  always,  That  such  School-Master 
shall,  from  time  to  time,  as  a  Yacancy  happens  be  Chosen  and 
Recomended  by  the  Comon  Council  of  the  said  City  for  the  time 
being  in  order  to  be  Lycensed  and  approved  by  the  Right  Honble 
the  Bishop  of  London  or  the  Governor  or  Comander  in  Chief  of  this 
province  for  the  time  being  any  thing  herein  Contained  to  the  con- 
trary thereof  in  any  ways  notwithstanding. 

City  of  New  York,  Die  Jovis,  2h.  P.  M.,  ft  Nov.,  1702    In 
the  first  year  of  her  Matys  Reign. 

House  of  Representatives  for  the  Province  of  New  York. 

This  Bill  having  been  read  three  times,  Resolved 

This  Bill  do  passe. 
Py  order  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 

W.  NICOLL  Speaker 

27th  November,  1702 

This  Bill  having  been  read  three  times  is  passed  the  Councill. 

By  order  of  Councill, 
27th  November  1702  B.  COZENS  Oof  Councill 

I  assent  to  this  Bill  Enacting  it  and  ordering  it  to  be  enrolled 

CORNBURY 
[Endorsed]  Die  Jovis  ft  Novr  1702 

This  Bill  having  been  read  three  times  Is  passed  and  Ordered 
to  be  sent  up  to  the  Council  for  their  concurrence. 

GAB  L.  LUDLOW  Jr.  CI 

to  ye  Gener.  Assembly. 

The  official  history  of  the  passage  of  the  foregoing  act,  as  derived 
from  the  Journals  of  the  General  Assembly  and  the  Council,  is 
deemed  worthy  of  insertion  in  this  place,  as  furnishing  valuable 
information  relative  to  the  men  and  the  measures  of  that  period,  in  con- 


78  ANNALS  OF  PUBLIC  EDUCATION 

nection  with  the  subject  under  consideration.  In  further  justification 
of  these  quotations  (if  an}r  be  needed),  we  adopt  the  language  of  the 
Preface  to  the  Assembly  Journal  itself,  to  wit : 

Although  the  Yotes  and  Proceedings  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
this  Colony,  may  perhaps  appear  to  some,  as  Matter  of  little  Moment ; 
the  same  were  nevertheless  regarded  by  the  General  Assembly,  as  a 
thing  of  so  much  Consequence,  that  by  a  Resolution  of  the  House  on 
the  Eighth  day  of  January,  One  Thousand  Seven  Hundred  and 
Sixty- two,  they  empowered  me  to  get  them  reprinted. 

*  *  #  *  *  *• 

ABEAHAM  LOTT  Junr. 
New  York,  September  1,  1764. 

We  may  add  that  this  set  of  Journals  covers  a  period  of  about 
seventy-five  years,  beginning  with  1691,  and  makes  two  large  folio 
volumes,  which  were  printed  by  HughGaine;  also,  that  two  volumes 
of  about  the  same  size,  containing  the  Journals  of  the  Legislative 
Council,  for  nearly  the  same  period,  were  printed  as  lately  as  1861, 
by  order  of  the  Senate  of  this  State.  Certain  deficiencies  in  the 
Assembly  Journals  have  been  restored  only  within  a  few  years,  after 
much  pains-taking  on  the  part  of  Mr.  George  H.  Moore,  Librarian 
of  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  from  whom  the  State  Library 
has  acquired  a  manuscript  copy,  through  the  Regents  of  the  Uni- 
versity. These  volumes  of  Journals  are  a  mine  of  information  on  all 
matters  connected  with  the  legislation  of  the  Colony,  and  it  cannot 
be  amiss  to  bring  to  light,  now  and  then,  passages  on  special  subjects, 
which  might  not  otherwise  be  seen  by  one  in  a  thousand  of  the 
people  of  this  State.  Besides,  for  historical  purposes,  the  series  of 
agencies  and  events  which  culminate  in  the  passage  of  an  act,  is 
sometimes  of  greater'  interest  and  importance  than  the  act  itself; 
just  as,  to  borrow  an  illustration  from  Coleridge,  "  the  history  of  a 
word  may  be  more  instructive  than  that  of  a  campaign." 

In  Governor  Cornbury's  Address  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Province  of  I^ew  York  at  the  opening  of  the  Session,  at  Jamaica, 
Queens  county,  on  the  20th  day  of  Oct.,  1702,  he  remarks  : 

There  are  some  other  Things,  I  think  it  my  Duty  to  recommend 
you,  particularly  "  the  preparing  a  good  Bill,  for  the  better  reglating 
the  Militia  of  this  Province,  another  for  the  erecting  of  public  schools 
in  proper  Places,  another  for  appointing  a  convenient  Number  of  fit 
Persons,  to  examine  and  state  the  publick  Accounts  and  Debts  of 
this  Province ;  " — 

to  which  recommendations  he  adds : 

*     *     "  these  and  all  other  Bills,  which  shall  appear  to  be  necessary 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  79 

to  be  passed  Into  Acts,  for  the  good  of  this  Country,  and  for  the 
Preservation  and  Encouragement  of  the  people,  shall  always  find  a 
ready  Compliance  from  me." 

The  foregoing  subjects  were  taken  up,  from  time  to  time,  by  the 
General  Assembly,  that  of  defense  being  first,  finance  second,  and 
education  third,  in  the  order  of  their  consideration,  though  the  last 
was  reached  within  ten  days  of  the  opening  of  the  session.  The 
first  record,  as  to  action  on  this  subject,  is  in  the  following  terms : 

Die  Veneris,1  8  ho.  A.  M.  Oct.  30,  1702. 

A  motion  being  made,  and  the  Question  being  put,  whether  there 
should  be  erected  a  publick  Free-School.  It  was  carried  in  the 
Affirmative. 

Ordered,  That  Major  Jackson?  do  acquaint  the  Town  of  Uamp- 
stead,  that  a  publick  Free-School  is  designed  to  be  erected,  and  to 
inquire  of  them,  what  Encouragement  they  will  allow  towards  the 
same,  within  the  Bounds  of  that  Township ;  and  that  he  make  Report 
thereof  to  the  House  Friday  next. 


Die  Veneris,  8  ho.  A.  M.  Nov.  6,  1702. 

*  *  4fr  *  *  * 

Major  Jackson,  according  to  Order,  reported  from  the  Township 
of  Hampstead,  at  a  general  Town  Meeting,  for  Encouragement  of  a 
Free-School,  to  be  erected  in  the  Township,  they  do  grant  100  Acres 
of  Land,  with  Conveniences  of  "Watering  near  the  Fast  Meadow 
Point,  and  also  allow  Liberty  for  Timber  for  Building,  Fencing  and 
Firewood,  with  other  Conveniences,  to  be  had  within  the  Township, 
according  to  a  Town  Act ;  to  build  a  Free-School  on  the  said  100 
Acres  of  Land. 


Die  Mortis,  3  ho.  P.  M.  Nov.  10,  1702. 
*  *  *  *  *  * 

A  Motion  being  made,  and  the  Question  being  put,  That  the  City 
and  County  of  New  York,  have  Leave  to  bring  in  a  Bill,  to  raise 
Fifty  Pounds  per  Annum,  for  a  Free-School,  and  it  was  carried  in 
the  Affirmative. 

1  As  this  ancient  method  of  indicating  the  day  of  the  week  has  become  nearly  or 
quite  obsolete  in  this   country,  though  still  used  in  the  British  Parliament,  we 

append  the  Latin  equivalents  of  the  English  names : 

Sunday Die  Soils. 

Monday Die  Lunm. 

Tuesday Die  Martis. 

Wednesday Die  Mercurij  (ij=ii). 

Thursday Die  Jovis. 

Friday Die  Veneris. 

Saturday Die  Sabatii. 

2  John  Jackson,  a  representative  from  Queens  county. 


8Q  Annals  of  Public  Education 

Ordered,  That  Mr.  French  and  Mr.  De  Zanccy,1  do  prepare  and 
bring  in  a  Bill  accordingly. 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

Die  Sabatii,  8  ho.  A.  M.  Nov.  14,  1702. 

Mr.  French,  presented  to  the  House  a  Bill,  entitled,  An  Act  to 
enable  the  Mayor,  Alderman  and  Commonalty  of  the  City  of  New- 
York  to  raise  Fifty  Pounds  per  Annum,  for  seven  Years,  towai%ds 
maintaining  a  School  Master,  within  the  said  City  of  New  York. 

Ordered,  The  Bill  be  read. 

A  Bill  entitled,  An  Act  [etc.,  as  above],  was  read  the  first  time. 

Ordered,  That  the  Bill  be  read  the  second  Time. 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

Die  Mortis,  8  ho.  A  M.  Nov.  17,  1702. 
[At  New  York  City,  by  adjournment  from  Jamaica.] 
****** 

The  Bill  entitled,  An  Act  to  enable  the  Mayor  [etc.,  as  above],  was 
read  the  second  Time. 

Ordered,  The  Bill  be  committed  to  Mr  French,  Mr.  Cortlandt,2 
Capt  Garton2,  Mr.  Abeel4  and  Major  Whitehead,5  or  any  Three  of  them. 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

Die  Jovis,  8  ho.  A.  M.  Nov.  19,  1702. 
****** 

Mr.  French,  reported  from  the  Committee,  to  whom  the  Bill,  enti- 
tled, An  Act  for  Encouragement  of  an  English  Free-School,  in  the 
City  of  New  York,  was  committed,  That  they  had  considered  the 
same,  and  made  some  amendments ;  which  they  had  directed  him  to 
report  to  the  House,  which  was  read  and  agreed  to  by  the  House. 
Ordered,  The  Bill  be  engrossed  with  the  amendments. 

****** 

Die  Jovis,  2  ho.  P.  M.  Nov.  19,  1702. 
The  Bill,  entitled,  An  Act  [etc.,  as  last  above  quoted],  was  read  the 
third  time, 

Resolved,  The  Bill  do  pass. 

Ordered,  Mr.  French  and  Major  Whitehead,  do  carry  up  the  Bill 
to  the  Council,  for  their  concurrence. 

****** 
At  a  Councill  held  at  fort  Wm  Henry,  this  19th  day  of  November, 

1702. 
Present — His  Excellency,  Edward  Viscount  Cornbury,  &c, 

Sa  :  Sh  :  Brouhton,  )  Caleb  Heathcote,  Esq1" 

Gerrard  Beekman,  >•  Esq"    John  Bridges,  Dor  of  Laws. 
Rip  Yan  Dam,  ) 

*  *  *  *  *  •  * 

1  Philip  French  and  Stephen  De  Lancey,  both  representatives  from  the  city  and 
county  of  New  York. 
3  Jacobus  Cortlandt,  of  New  York.  *  John  Abeel,  of  Albany. 

8  Thomas  Garton,  of  Ulster.  *  Daniel  Whitehead,  of  Queens. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  81 

His  Excellency  layd  before  this  board  a  Bill  for  Encouragement  of 
a  Grammar  Free  Schooll  in  the  City  of  New  York  which  was  Dd  to 
him  by  members  of  the  house  of  Representatives  appointed  to  do  the 
same  which  was  read  the  first  and  second  time  and  comitted  to  the 
members  of  this  board  or  any  three  of  them. 


On  the  next  day,  the  same  members  being  present,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Mr.  Beekman,  and  the  addition  of  Wm  Smith : — 

Coll0  Wm  Smith  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  the  Councill  to 
whom  the  Bill  for  Encouragement  of  a  Grammar  Free  Schooll 
in  the  City  of  New  York  was  Comitted  by  this  board  for  Eeport 
does  humbly  offer  to  his  Excellency  that  upon  perusall  of  that 
part  of  his  Excellencies  Instructions  relating  to  School  masters  within 
this  Colony  In  the  words  following :  That  no  School  master  be  per- 
mitted to  come  from  England  and  to  keep  a  school  within  this  pro- 
vince without  the  License  of  the  Right  Reverend  ffather  in  God, 
Henry  Lord  Bishop  of  London  and  that  no  person  now  there  or  that 
shall  come  from  other  parts  be  admitted  to  keep  Schooll  without  your 
Ly cense  first  obteined  We  are  humbly  of  opinion  that  his  Excel- 
lency ought  not  to  passe  the  said  Bill  otherwise  than  is  directed  by 
that  Clause  of  his  Excellencies  Instruction  and  that  it  be  Recom- 
mended to  the  house  of  Representatives  to  make  such  amendments  in 
the  said  Bill  as  is  agreeable  thereunto    And 

Ordered^  that  Coll0  Hathcote  do  carry  the  same. 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

[In  General  Assembly.] 

Die  Mortis,  2  ho.  P.  M.  Nov.  24,  1702. 

A  Message  from  his  Excellency  and  Council,  by  Col.  Heathcote, 
with  the  Bill,  entitled,  An  Act  [etc.,  as  above.] 

That  his  Excellency  ought  not  to  pa§s  the  said  Bill,  otherwise  than 
is  directed  by  his  Instructions,  and  that  it  be  recommended  to  the 
House  of  Representatives,  to  make  such  Amendments  to  the  said 
Bill,  agreeable  thereto. 

After  some  Debate  on  the  Message,  the  House  ordered  Mr.  French 
and  Mr.  Willet,1  to  return  the  said  Bill  to  the  Council,  and  acquaint 
his  Excellency,  That  the  House  had  sent  the  Bill,  for  settling  a  Free 
School,  &c.  to  the  Council,  and  that  they  may  reject  or  amend  the 
Bill  and  send  it  down  with  the  Amendments,  and  the  House  will 
forthwith  take  the  same  into  Consideration,  and  dispatch  that  and 
other  Matters,  now  before  the  House. 

****** 

At  a  Councill,  [etc.]  Nov.  24th,  1702. 
Coll0  Wm  Smith  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  the  Councill  to 
whom  the  Bill  for  encouragement  of  a  Grammar  Free  Schooll  in  the 
City  of  New  York  was  Recomitted  does  report  to  this  honoble  board. 

William  Willet  of  Westchester. 
6 


82  Annals  of  Public  Education 

That  all  be  left  out  after  the  words  [Queen  Mary]  in  the  tenth  line 
of  the  second  Sheet  and  instead  thereof  the  following  provisoe  to  be 
Inserted — Provided  allwayes  that  such  Schooll  master  if  Chosen  from 
England  then  to  be  Licensed  by  the  Eight  Keverend  ffather  in  God 
the  Lord  Bishop  of  London  and  approved  of  by  the  Govr  or  Coman- 
der  in  Chief  of  this  province  for  the  time  being  and  in  case  any  fitt 
person  shall  be  here  found  for  the  discharge  of  that  duty  as  well  as 
upon  any  Vacancy  that  may  hereafter  happen  upon  the  death  absence 
or  disability  of  such  Schooll  master  that  then  and  in  such  case  the 
Comon  Councill  of  the  City  of  New  York  for  the  time  being  shall 
and  may  Recomend  to  the  Govr  or  Comander  in  Chief  of  this  pro- 
vince for  the  time  being  such  fitt  person  qualified  as  is  aforesaid  for 
License  and  approbation  Which  is  allwayes  to  be  had  and  obteined 
before  such  School  master  be  Instituted  to  the  Sallary  aforesaid  any 
thing  herein  conteined  to  the  Contrary  thereof  in  any  wise  notwith- 
standing. 

Which  Report  being  read  and  approved  of  The  said  Bill  together 
with  the  said  amendments  being  read  the  third  time  is  passed  the 
Councill  and  ordered  to  be  sent  down  to  the  house  of  Representa- 
tives for  their  Concurrence  to  the  sd  amend*  and  Mr  Attorney  Gene- 
ral ordered  to  carry  the  same  Which  was  done. 


[In  General  Assembly.'] 
Die  Mercurij,  8  ho.  A.  M.  Nov.  25, 1702. 


A  Message  from  the  Council,  by  Mr.  Attorney  General.  That  the 
Council  have  agreed  to  the  Bill,  entitled  [as  above]  with  some 
Amendments,  to  which  they  desire  the  Concurrence  of  this  House, 

Resolved,  A  Conference  be  desired  with  the  Council,  upon  the 
Amendments  of  the  said  Bill. 

Ordered,  That  Mr.  French  do  go  to  the  Council,  and  desire  the 
said  Conference. 

*  #  *  *  *  * 

At  a  Councill  [etc.  on  the  same  day] 

*  *  ■*  *  *  * 

Phillip  ffrench  Esqr  from  the  house  of  Representatives  desires  a 
Conferrence  with  the  Councill  upon  the  amendments  of  the  Bill  for 
Incouragement  of  a  Grammar  Free  Schooll,  &c. 

The  Gentl  of  the  Councill  did  agree  to  the  sd  Conferrence,  and 
order  that  Coll0  Wm  Smith,  Sampson  Shelton  Brougton  Esq1"  and 
Coll°  Caleb  Heath  cote  do  manage  the  same  and  that  they  meet  the 
Comittee  of  the  house  of  Representatives  in  order  thereunto  this 
afternoon  between  three  and  four  of  the  Clock  at  the  house  of  the  sd 
W  firench. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  83 

[In  General  Assembly.] 

Die  Mercury,  2  ho.  P.  M.  Nov.  25, 1702. 

A  Message  from  the  Council,  acquainting  this  House,  that  they  had 
appointed  a  Conference  at  Four  of  the  Clock  this  Afternoon,  at  the 
House  of  Mr.  Philip  French. 

To  which  the  House  agreed. 

Ordered,  That  Mr.  French,  Capt.  Coddrington,1  Col.  Howell,2  Capt. 
Gar  ton,  Mr.  De  Lancey,  and  Major  Whitehead,  be,  and  are  hereby 
appointed  by  this  House,  to  meet  the  Committee  of  Council,  to 
manage  the  conference  on  the  subject  Matter  of  that  Message. 


Die  Jovis,  2  ho.  P.  M.  Nov.  26,  1702. 
*  *  *  * 

Mr.  French  reported  from  the  Committee  of  this  House,  appointed 
to  be  Managers  of  the  Conference  with  the  Committee  of  Council, 
That  they  had  met  the  Committee  of  Council,  and  concluded  on  the 
Bill  entitled,  [as  above]  ;  the  Amendment  to  which  being  read,  was 
agreed  to  by  the  House. 


Ordered,  That  Mr.  De  Lancey,  do  carry  up  to  the  Council,  the 
Bill  for  the  Encouragement  of  an  English  Free-School,  -in  the  City 
of  New  York,  and  the  Bill  for  regulating  of  Slaves,  and  acquaint 
them,  this  House  had  agreed  to  the  Amendments  to  each  Bill. 


At  a  Council  [etc.  on  the  same  day]. 

Coll°  Wm  Smith  Chairman  of  the  Comittee  of  the  Councill 
appointed  to  meet  a  Comittee  of  the  house  of  Representatives  on 
the  amendment  to  the  Bill  for  Incouragm1  of  a  Grammar  Free  Schooll 
&c  does  report  to  his  Excellency  in  Councill  that  the  sd  Comittee 
have  mett  and  have  agreed  to  the  amendment  to  the  said  Bill  as  fol- 
io weth  vizt :  That  Instead  of  the  last  provisoe  made  by  the  Council 
as  an  amendm*  to  the  sd  Bill  these  following  words  be  Inserted 
[  Provided  allwayes  that  such  Schoollmaster  shall  from  time  to  time 
as  a  vacancy  happens  be  Chosen  and  Recomended  by  the  Com  on 
Councill  of  the  said  City  for  the  time  being  in  order  to  be  Licensed 
and  approved  by  the  Right  honoble  the  Bishopp  of  London  for  the 
time  being  or  the  Governor  or  Comander  in  Chief  of  this  province 
for  the  time  being  any  thing  herein  Conteined  to  the  Contrary  thereof 
in  any  ways  notwithstanding.] 

Which  was  approved  of  and 

Ordered,  that  the  same  be  sent  down  to  the  house  of  Representa- 
tives for  their  Concurrence  to  the  sd  Amen  dm*  &  that  Rip  van  Dam 

Esq  do  carry  the  same. 

*  *  *  <     * 

1  Thomas  Coddrington,  of  l^ew  York  2  Matthew  Howell,  of  Suffolk. 


84  Annals  of  Public  Education 

At  a  Councill,  [etc.],  this  27th  9ber  1702. 

Ordered,  the  Clerk  of  the  Council  do  acquaint  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, to  attend  his  Excellency  in  Council  at  Fort  William  Henry, 
immediately. 

Accordingly  the  Speaker,  with  the  House,  attended  his  Excellency 
in  Council,  where  his  Excellency  was  pleased  to  give  his  Assent  to 
the  several  Bills  following,  viz  : 

An  Act  for  encouragement  of  a  Grammar  Free  School  in  the  City 
of  New  York. 

*  *  *  * 

Referring  to  the  general  legislation  of  the  session  and  to  the  special 
act  under  consideration,  Lord  Cornbury  wrote  to  the  Lords  of  Trade, 
in  December  of  the  same  year  : 

*  *  *  * 

The  general  Assembly  of  this  Colony  met  ...  on  the  20  of 
October  last  at  Jamaica,  and  sat  there  till  the  14  of  November  on 
which  day  I  did  at  the  request  of  the  House,  adjourn  them  to  New 
York  to  meet  there  on  the  16  of  November  (the  sickness  God  be 
praised  quite  over)  there  they  continued  their  Sessions  till  the  27  of 
November  during  which  time  they  passed  several  Bills  in  number 
fifteen  of  which  I  send  your  Lordships  Transcripts  under  the  Seale  * 
of  this  Colony  for  your  approbation  and  hope  the  Queen  will  be 
pleased  to  approve  of  them. 

■x-  #  *  *  *  * 

The  11th  for  a  free  school  I  hope  wants  no  recommendation.1 
*  *  *  *  *  4f 

The  following  is  a  transcript  of  the  Common  Council  Records  of 
the  City  of  New  York,  for  1702,  so  far  as  they  relate  to  the  school 
proposed  to  be  established  under  the  foregoing  legislative  act  of  that 
year : 

p.,,       n     }  Att  a  Common  Council  held  att  the  Citty  Hall  of 

-kj        v    i     c  8S-         tne  said  Citty  on  Monday  the  23d  day  of  Decem- 
JNew   lorfce)  ber  Anno  Dom  1702. 

Present — Philip  French  Esqr  Mayor 

Samson  Shelton  Broughton  Esqr  Recorder 

Jacobus  V :  Cortlandt ) 

John  Corbett  >  Esq1*8  Aldermen 

William  Smith  ) 

Jeremiah  Tothil 

Caleb  Cooper 

Bartholomew  Laroux 

Jan  Hendrickse  Brevort 


>■  Assistants 


1  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  iv,  10Q4. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  85 

Whereas  there  is  an  act  of  Generall  Assembly  of  this  Province 
entituled  an  act  for  encouragement  of  a  Grammar  Free  School  in  the 
Citty  of  New  Yorke.  And  Whereas  this  Court  are  of  Opinion  that 
att  this  time,  there  is  not  any  person  within  this  Citty  (with  whose 
Conveniency  it  would  be  agreeable)  proper  and  duely  qualified  to 
take  upon  him  the  office  of  School  Master  of  the  said  Citty  but  think 
it  nessessary  that  the  want  thereof  be  Recommended  to  the  Right 
Honble  the  Bishop  of  London  to  send  over  hither  a  person  of  good 
learning  of  pious  life  and  vertuous  Conversation  of  English  Extract 
and  of  good  and  mild  temper  to  be  the  said  school  master  and  in 
Order  thereunto  itt  is  hereby  Resolved  nemine  contra  dicente  that 
this  court  doe  Petition  his  Excellency  the  Lord  Cornbury  to  Recom- 
mend this  affair  in  the  name  of  this  Corporation  to  his  Lordship  the 
Bishop  of  London  and  that  his  Excellency  will  also  be  pleased  to 
Recommend  the  further  Encouragement  of  the  said  free  school  to  the 
society  for  propagating  the  Gospel  in  foreign  parts  and  likewise  to 
her  Most  Sacred  Majesty  that  her  Majesty  will  be  most  graciously 
pleased  to  appropriate  a  parte  of  the  farme  commonly  called  the 
Kings  farme  lying  within  this  Citty  for  the  further  encouragement 
of  the  said  free  school  that  Mr  Recorder  doe  draw  the  said  Petition 
and  that  Mr  Mayor  doe  sign  the  same  accordingly  by  Order  of  this 
Court.1 


p. , ,       «     x  Att  a  Common  Council  held  att  the  Citty  Hall  of 

vawy  oi  \  SSm  the  gaid  Citj  on  Fryday  the  15th  day  of  Janu- 
±\ew    lorKe)  ary  Anno  Dom  1702 

Present — [the  same  as  Dec.  23,  1702,  except  Caleb  Cooper 
and  Jan  Hendrickse  Brevort,  and  in  addition  Law 
rence  Reade,  Alderman,  and  Robert  Lurting, 
Assistant.] 

The  following  address  to  his  Excellency  was  read  and  approved  and 
Ordered  the  same  be  signed  by  this  Court  and  presented  to  his  Excel- 
lency and  that  the  same  be  Recorded 

To  His  Excellency  Edward  Yiscount  Cornbury  Cap*  Gen11  and  Gov" 
ernour  in  Chiefe  of  the  Province  of  New  Yorke  and  all  the 
Territories  and  Tracts  of  Land  depending  thereon  in  America 
and  vice  admiral  of  the  same  &c : 

The  Humble  Address  of  the  Mayor  Alderman  and  Com- 
monalty of  the  Citty  of  New  Yorke  in  Common  Council 
assembled, 

Most  Humbly  Sheweth  : 

That  the  last  session  of  the  General  Assembly  of  this  Province 
your  Excellency  having  been  pleased  to  give  your  assent  to  the  passing 
an  act  whereby  this  Corporation  is  Impowered  to  nominate  and  pre- 
sent to  your  Excellency  for  your  approbation  a  fitt  and  able  person  to 
teach  a  publick  free  school  within  this  Citty  and  to  raise  Moneys 

1  Minutes  of  the  N.  Y.  Common  Council  (MSS.),  ii,  517. 


86  Annals  of  Public  Education 

towards  the  Main  tain  ance  of  such  person,  wee  are  become  very  solici- 
tous which  ways  to  apply  our  selves  for  the  finding  out  one  truly 
qualified  for  that  trust  and  duty  much  doubting  that  neither  these 
nor  the  neighboring  countrys  can  supply  us  therewith  to  whose  con- 
veniency  the  same  may  be  agreeable. 

Wherefore  that  so  good  a  worke  may  not  suffer  by  delay  nor  fail  of 
its  desired  end  Wee  the  said  Mayor  Alderman  &  Commonalty  become 
most  humble  Supplicants  to  your  Excellency  that  you  would  be 
pleased  to  help  on  the  structure  whose  foundation  you  have  already 
laid  in  Representing  our  Want  of  a  School  Master  with  all  the  diffi- 
cult Circumstances  thereof  to  the  Right  Reverend  and  no  less 
Honourable  my  Lord  of  London  and  in  Requesting  his  fatherly  Care 
&  Concern  for  us  therein  and  by  his  Lordships  means  that  of  the 
Society  for  propagating  the  Gospell  in  foreign  parts  in  Order  to  our 
being  supplyd  from  thence  with  a  person  of  good  learning  pious  life 
and  vertuous  Conversation  of  English  Extract  and  mild  temper  to  be 
our  said  School  Master  and  that  your  Excellency  would  be  further 
pleased  to  Recommend  our  affair  and  design  of  a  free  school  aforesaid 
unto  her  Majesties  grace  and  favour  and  in  our  behalfe,  most  humbly 
beseech  her  Majesty  that  some  parte  of  the  farme  commonly  called 
the  Kings  farme  within  the  Liberties  of  this  Citty  may  be  appropri- 
ated for  the  farther  and  better  Support  and  Maintainance  of  the  said 
School  and  School  Master. 

And  wee  your  Excellencys  most  humble  Supplicants  aforesaid  shall 
ever  pray,  &c : 1 

*  *  *  * 

We  find  no  record  of  the  actual  establishment  of  the  school  in 
question,  until  the  year  1704.  The  Abstract  of  Proceedings  of  the 
Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  for  the 
year  1704,  contains  the  following  statement,  with  evident  reference 
to  this  school : 

A  Latin  Free  school  is  likewise  established  at  New  York,  by  the 
influence  of  His  Ex.  the  Lord  Cornbury,  with  2  others  [i.  e.,  schools], 
by  which  means  sound  Religion  visibly  gains  ground  there.  There 
are  also  Proposals  going  on  for  Building  a  College  on  the  Queens  new 
Farm  by  subscription.2 

The  foregoing  statement  in  regard  to   the  "Latin  Free  School, 
.     with  2  others,"  seems  to  have  been  derived  from  certain 
paragraphs  in  "  A  summary  Account,"  etc.,  prepared  by  Rector  Wil- 
liam Yesey,  in  October,  1704,  to  wit : 

****** 

His  Lordship  hath  also  been  highly  instrumental  in  enacting  a 
law  for  establishing  a  Latin  free  school,  and  to  endow  it  with  a  salary 
of  Fifty  pound  per  annum,  to  which  station  his  Lordship  hath  pre- 

}  Minutes  of  the  N.  Y.  Common  Council  (MSS.),  ii,  519,  520. 

a  Soc.  for  Prop,  of  Gospel,  etc. ;  Abs.  of  Proceedings,  1704-5,  p.  26. 


in  tee  State  of  New  York.  87 

ferred  the  ingenious  Mr.  George  Muirson,  who  for  some  time  dis- 
charged that  function  with  approbation  &  success. 

Two  other  schools  are  likewise  established  in  this  City  by  his  Excel- 
lency's care.1 


Mr.  Muirson  was  duly  licensed  to  teach,  in  the  following  terms : 

Edward  Viscount  Cornbury  Cap*  Gen11  and  Govern1"  in  Chief  of  the 
Province  of  New  York  New  Jersey  &  of  all  the  Territories  and 
tracts  of  Land  depending  thereon  in  America  and  vice  admirall  of 
the  same  &c, 

To  Mr  George  Muirson  Greeting 
I  do  hereby  authorize  and  impower  you  to  keep  and  teach  school 
wth  in  the  Citty  of  New  York,  and  to  instruct  all  Children  wth  whom 
you  shall  be  intrusted  in  the  English  Latin  and  Greek  tongues  or 
Languages  and  also  in  the  arts  of  writing  and  arithmetick.  You  are 
therefore  carefully  and  diligently  to  discharge  the  Duty  of  a  school- 
master in  ye  said  Citty  and  you  are  to  receive  and  enjoy  all  such 
priviledges  and  advantages  as  to  the  office  and  place  of  a  Schoolmaster 
doth  or  may  belong  whereof  the  Mayor  all  her  maties  Justices  of 
ye  Peace  and  other  officers  wth  in  the  said  Citty  are  hereby  required  to 
take  notice  and  Govern  themselves  accordingly  Given  under  my 
hand  and  Seal  att  arms  att  ffort  ann  in  New  York  this  Twenty  ffifth 
day  of  Aprill  1704 

COENBUHY. 
by  his  Excellcys  command 

Geo  Clarke  D  Secy2 

The  Governor  also  issued  a  warrant  for  the  payment  of  Mr.  Muir 
son's  salary : 

[Seale]  By  his  Excellency  Edward  Viscount  Cornburyfetc] 

You  are  hereby  Directed  and  required  to  pay  or  cause  to  be  paid 
unto  Mr.  George  Muirson  School  Master  of  the  City  of  New  Yorke 
the  Sume  of  five  and  Twenty  pounds  for  half  a  years  Sallary  Due  and 
Ending  the  second  Tuesday  in  January  next  for  which  this  shall  be 
your  Sufficient  Warrant.  Given  under  my  hand  and  Seale  att  ffort 
anne  in  New  York  this  20th  of  October  1704 

CORNBUKY 
To  William  Peartree  Esqr 

Mayor  of  the  City  of  New  Yorke s 

Early  in  1705,  Mr.  Muirson  went  to  England  to  receive  ordina- 
tion,4 and  Mr.  Andrew  Clarke  was  appointed  by  the  Common  Council 
as  city  schoolmaster.     The  record  of  his  appointment  is  as  follows : 

1  Doc.  Hist,  of  N.  Y.,  iii,  113  (8°  ed.) ;  75  (4°  ed.) 

2  Deeds  (MS.),  in  office  of  Secretary  of  State,  x,  5. 

3  N.  Y.  Col.  MSS. ,  1, 19.  4  Bolton's  Hist,  of  the  Church  in  West.  Co. ,  149. 


88  Annals  of  Public  Education 

p. ,      .p     s  Att  a  Common  Council  held  att  the  City  Hall  of 

-vr   x  ^r?   i   [  ss.      the  said  City  on  Tuesday  the  22d  day  of  January 
INew  I  or*  |  Anno  Dom0  1705> 

*  '•  *  * 

The  petition  of  Mr  Andrew  Clarke  was  read  praying  to  be  by  this 
Court  appointed  School  Master  of  this  City  according  to  an  act  of 
General  Assembly  of  this  Province  entituled  an  act  for  Encourage- 
ment of  A  Grammar  free  school  in  the  City  of  New  York,  which 
Petition  being  taken  into  the  consideration  of  'this  Court  and  they 
being  well  satisfyed  of  the  Sobriety  Learning  and  Integrity  of  the 
said  Andrew  Clarke  doo  {nemine  contra  dicente)  hereby  nominate  and 
appoint  the  said  Mr  Andrew  Clarke  school  master  of  this  City  of  New 
York  Pursuant  to  the  said  act.1 


"We  fail  to  find,  among  the  meager  files  of  the  corporation  for  that 
early  period,  the  petition  of  Mr.  Clarke,  referred  to  in  the  above 
council  minute,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  further  official  evidence  that 
he  actually  served  under  such  appointment,  except  his  license  to  teach, 
dated  August  14,  1705,2  which  is  the  same  in  form  as  that  granted  to 
Mr.  Muirson,  as  quoted  above. 

A  brief  narrative  appears  in  certain  historical  works, — evidently 
based  in  the  first  instance  upon  the  corporation  records  already  quoted, 
and  thence  adopted  as  standard  by  subsequent  authors, — which  con- 
cludes with  the  remark  that  "  it  was  not  until  1705  that  the  school 
was  finally  established,  and  Andrew  Clarke  appointed  master." 3 

"We  regret  that  this  narrative,  which  entirely  overlooks  Mr.  Muir- 
son's  previous  employment,  does  not  go  on  to  state  where  and  how 
"  the  school  was  established,"  how  long  and  with  what  success  it  con- 
tinued, etc.  Possibly  these  details  were  regarded  as  too  trivial  for 
insertion  in  the  general  history  of  the  State,  or  of  the  city ;  although 
we  rather  conclude  that  the  sources  of  information  failed  at  this  point. 
The  bare  appointment  of  the  schoolmaster  seems  to  be  the  only 
authenticated  fact  embraced  in  the  narrative  above  quoted,  and  the 
establishment  of  the  school  appears  rather  to  be  assumed  from  the 
fact  of  such  appointment,  than  substantiated  by  any  official  record. 
"We  have  beeji  unable,  on  careful  search  at  the  New  York  city  hall, 
to  find  any  warrant  or  order  for  the  payment  of  Mr.  Clarke's  salary, 
or  any  allusion,  official  or  otherwise,  to  the  existence  of  this  school  at 
any  later  period.  Under  the  provision  of  the  statutes  bearing  upon 
the  subject,  it  was  incumbent  on  the  vestrymen  of  the  parish  to  assess, 

1  Minutes  of  the  Common  Council,  iii,  69.  2  Deeds,  x,  65. 

3  Mary  L.  Booth's  History  of  the  City  of  New  York,  p.  274  ;  S.  S.  Randall's  His- 
tory of  the  State  of  New  York,  p.  51. 


in  tee  State  of  New  York.  89 

collect  and  expend  the  money  required  for  the  support  of  the  school- 
master ;  and  but  for  the  destruction  of  the  early  records  of  Trinity 
church,1  we  might  now  be  able  to  determine  how  long,  if  at  all,  Mr. 
Clarke  was  continued  in  service.  As  it  is,  we  are  left  in  doubt 
whether  the  act  of  1702  was  directly  productive  of  any  further  educa- 
tional fruit. 

It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  Mr.  Clarke's  name  does  not  appear 
in  a  list  of  city  schoolmasters,  from  1695  to  the  Revolution,  appended 
to  Valentine's  History  of  the  City  of  New  York ;  although  this  can 
hardly  be  regarded  as  valid  evidence  on  the  subject  of  his  actual 
employment,  since  the  names  of  other  well  authenticated  schoolmas- 
ters are  omitted,  and  no  mention  of  the  schools  of  the  city  occurs  in 
the  body  of  the  work.2 

The  following  extract  from  the  Minutes  of  the  Common  Council, 
indicates  that  Mr.  Clarke  subsequently  engaged  in  the  civil  service 
of  the  colony : 

25th  October,  1712. 

Mr  Andrew  Clarke  who  was  lately  Elected  Constable  of  the 
South  Ward  personally  Appeared  before  this  Court  and  Acquainted 
them  that  he  Could  not  serve  in  that  Office  by  reason  he  was 
Imployed  by  the  Receiver  General  of  this  Colony  in  Collecting 
her  Majesties  quitt  Rents,  it  is  therefore  Order'd  that  the  said 
Andrew  Clarke  do  pay  the  fine  for  his  said  Refusal  and  that  the 
Mayor  Issue  his  Warrant  to  the  Alderman  of  the  said  Ward  to  Elect 
another  fitt  person  on  Tuesday  Next  to  serve  in  the  said  Office  for 
the  year  Ensueing. 

Mr.  Henry  Onderdonk,  Jr.,  says : 

Andrew  Clark  lived  in  Jamaica  and  was  Clerk  of  Common  Pleas 
of  Queens  Co.,  from  1723  to  1756. 

A  Dutch  scholmaster  seems  to  have  been  employed  at  Kinderhook 
as  early  as  1702,  as  appears  from  the  following 

Certificate  vn  favor  of  Mr.  Van  Vleck. 

Kinderhook  the  30th  Novemb.  Anno  Domine  1702. 
In  the  first  year  of  the  Reign  of  her  Majesty  Anne,  Queen  of  Eng- 
land, Scotland,  Ireland  and  France,  Defender  of  the  Faith,  We  the 
undersigned  inhabitants  of  Kinderhook  patent  acknowledge  and 
Declare  that  Paulus  van  Yleg  during  the  whole  of  the  time  that  he 
hath  resided  here  and  since  he  was  accepted  as  Precentor  and  school- 

1  See  the  "Act  for  settling  a  Ministry,"  etc.,  passed  Sept.  22,  1693,  as  referred  to 
in  the  foregoing  act  of  1702. 

2  We  propose  to  insert  Mr.  Valentine's  list  in  a  subsequent  part  of  our  "Annals," 
with  such  additions  as  we  may  be  able  to  make. 


90  Annals  op  Public  Education 

master  of  our  Church  hath  truly  comported  himself  to  the  Great  con- 
tent of  our  congregation. 


YoHANNES   VAN   AlEN 
CoENRAST   BoRGHGHARDT 

Abeam  van  Alstyn 
Zammert  van  Yansan1 

A  certain  Albany  schoolmaster  has,  perhaps,  no  other  memorial  of 
service  in  this  capacity,  than  the  following : 

At  a  Common  Councill  held  in  ye  Citty  Hall  of  Albany  this  first  of 
May,  1703 

****** 

Evert  Kidder  of  the  Citty  of  Albany  makes  his  humble  application 
to  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  and  Assistance  to  be  permitted  to  teach 
schoole  in  the  Citty  aforesaid,  which  request  is  taken  into  considera- 
tion, and  granted  accordingly.2 

About  this  time  (1703-7)  several  licenses  to  teach  schools,  in  New 
York  city  and  elsewhere,  were  granted  by  his  Excellency  Lord  Corn- 
bury,  in  addition  to  those  of  George  Muirson  and  Andrew  Clarke, 
already  mentioned.  Some  of  these  licenses  have  been  printed  within 
a  few  years,  as  mementoes  of  the  olden  time,  but  the  most  of  them 
we  have  found  only  in  the  manuscript  volumes  of  Deeds,  in  the  office 
of  the  Secretary  of  State,  where  they  were  originally  recorded.  We 
insert  such  as  were  issued  prior  to  1707,  in  chronological  and  consecu- 
tive order : 

Edward  Viscount  Cornbttry  [etc] 

I  doe  hereby  authorize  and  Impower  you  Andrew  ffoucautt  to  teach 
an  English  and  ffrench  School  within  the  City  of  New  York  and  to 
instruct  all  Children  where  with  you  shall  be  intrusted  fo[r]  ye  pur- 
pose in  the  said  Languages,  as  alsoe  in  ye  art  of  Writeing  Arethme- 
tick  &c.  You  are  therefore  carefully  and  Diligently  to  discharge  the 
duty  of  a  Schoolmaster  in  ye  said  City,  and  to  receive  and  enjoy  all 
such  privilledges  and  advantages  as  to  the  office  and  Place  of  a  School- 
master doth  and  may  belong  and  appertain.  Whereof  ye  Mayor  all 
her  Majties  Justices  of  the  Peace  and  other  Officers  within  the  said 
City  are  hereby  required  to  take  notice  and  Govern  themselves  accord- 
ingly and  for  soe  doing  this  shall  be  your  sufficient  Warrant.  Given 
under  my  hand  and  seale  att  Arms  att  her  Majtiefl  fort  in  New  York, 
this  thirteenth  Day  of  September  Anno  Dom  1703 

COKNBUKY 3 

1  Doc.  Hist,  of  N.  Y.,  iii,  894  (8°  ed.) ;  539  (4°  ed.)  3  Deeds,  ix,  736. 

3  Munsell's  Annals,  iv,  177. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  91 

Edward  Viscount  Cornbury  [etc]. 
To  the  Worthy  Mr  Elias  Neau, 

Greeting  Reposing  speciall  trust  and  Confidence  in  your  ability 
prudence  and  Integrity  have  nominated  Constituted  and  appointed 
and  do  hereby  nominate  Constitute  and  appoint  you  ye  Sd  Elias 
Neau  to  be  Catechist  in  the  City  of  New  Yorke  and  Do  hereby  give 
and  grant  unto  you  full  Licence  and  power  to  Catechise  all  Children 
Indians  Negroes  and  Other  persons  within  ye  Sd  Citty.  Given  under 
my  hand  and  Seale  att  ffort  Anne  in  New  Yorke  this  twenty  fourth 
day  of  August  1704 

CORNBUKY1 
*  *  *  * 

According  to  the  brief  narrative  furnished  by  Jonathan  Hasbrouck, 
Esq.,  of  Kerhonkson,  respecting  early  schools  in  Kingston,  Ulster 
county,  and  quoted  in  connection  with  our  uAnnals  of  Education  in 
New  Netherland,"  Mr.  William  Montagne  (or  La  Montagne),  who 
seems  to  have  been,  at  various  times,  secretary  of  the  Esopus,  and 
sheriff  of  Ulster  county,  was  also  for  a  time  schoolmaster  at  Kingston, 
under  the  English.  We  have  found,  however,  no  earlier  official  record 
of  educational  affairs  at  Kingston  than  the  following  license  to  one 
Stephen  Gasheris,  a  letter  from  whom,  dated  July  4,  1715,  relative  to 
a  legal  proceeding,  is  also  on  file  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of 
State:2  ' 

Edward  Yisc*.  Cornbury,  Gv  Viee-Admiral  &c, 
To  Stephen  Gasheris  Greeting 
You  are  hereby  Impowered  &  Ly censed  to  read  ye  service  of 
ye  Dutch  Church  at  Kingstown  in  ye  County  of  Ulster  from  time  to 
time  untill  you  receive  further  orders  from  me,  and  you  are  likewise 
hereby  Impowered  &  Lycensed  to  Keep  a  writing  &  reading  school 
at  Kingstown  aforesd  untill  you  receive  further  orders  from  me  to 
ye  contrary.  Given  under  my  hand  at  Kingstown  this  tenth  day  of 
August  in  ye  third  year,  &c,  annoque,  Dom.  1704 3 

Edward  Yiscount  Cornbury  [etc]. 
To  Mr  Henry  Lindley     Greeting, 

I  do  hereby  authorize  and  impower  you  to  Keep  and  Teach  Schoole 
wthin  the  Town  of  Jamaica  in  Queens  County  and  to  Instruct  all 
Children  wth  whom  you  shall  be  intrusted  in  the  English  and 
Lattin  Tongues  or  Languages  and  also  in  the  art  of  Writing  and 
Arithmetic  for  and  During  my  Pleasure  Given  under  my  hand  and 
Seale  att  Fort  Anne  in  New  Yorke  this  18th  day  of  Aprill  1705 

COENBURY 
By  his  Excel8  Command 
Geo:  Clarke  Sec1"7* 

1  Deeds,  x,  27.  «K  Y.  Col.  MSS,  xlix,  165. 

a  N.  Y.  Col.  MSS. ,  lx,  15.  *  Deeds,  x,  48. 


92  Annals  of  Public  Education 

A  license  in  the  same  form  was  issued  to  Mr.  Alexander  Baird,  on 
the  6th  day  of  March,  1706,  for  the  town  of  Hempstead,  in  Queens 
county.1 

Edwd  Viscc*  Cornbury  [etc.] 
To  Elias  Bon  Repos     Greeting, 

You  are  hereby  Impowered  &  Lycens'd  to  Keep  School  within 
ye  Town  of  New  Rochel  in  ye  County  of  West  Chester  &  carefully 
&  diligently  to  Instruct  ye  Children  under  yor  Care  &  Tuition  in 
ye  art  of  Reading  &  "Writing  during  my  pleasure.  Given  under  my 
hand  &  Seal  at  New  York  this  23d  day  of  June  1705  &  in  ye  4th 
year  of  her  Matys  Reign. 

CORNBURY. 
By  his  Excell.  Command, 

Will  Anderson  D.  Secry.3 

This  license  was  renewed  by  Governor  Hunter  in  the  same  words, 
Dec.  12,  1712.4 

Alexr  Baird,  Teacher,  1707,  had  a  pew  in  the  Dutch  Church  at 
Jamaica,  also  called  "  Alexander  the  Scotchman."  I  suppose  he  was 
also  a  scrivener,  as  he  was  a  witness  to  a  will  which  he  probably 
wrote  at  Foster's  Meadow,  Hempstead,  1714.2 

Mr.  John  Wood  was  duly  licensed  by  Lord  Cornbury,  Aug.  29, 
1705,  to  keep  a  Dancing  School  within  the  City  of  New  York  during 
the  Governor's  pleasure. 

On  the  same  day,  Mr  Prudent  De  La  Fayole  was  authorized  to 
keep  a  French  School  within  the  said  city.5 

Thomas  Huddleston[e]  was  licensed  on  the  5th  day  of  December, 
1705,  to  teach  the  English  language,  writing  and  arithmetic  in  the 
town  of  Jamaica,  Queens  Co.6 

The  wordy  plumage  with  which  the  diminutive  body  of  the  fol- 
lowing license  is  winged  on  either  side,  in  "  spread  eagle  "  style,  is 
somewhat  peculiar : 

By  his  Exly  Edward  Viscount  Cornbury  Captain  Gen1  &  Govr  in  chief 
of  the  Provinces  of  New  York  &  New  Jersey  and  Territorys 
Depending  thereon  in  America  and  Yice  admiral  of  the  same  &c. 

To  Mr  James  Jeffray  Greeting. 
I  do  hereby  authorize  and  Impower  You  to  Keep  and  Teach  School 
within  the  city  of  New  York  and  to  Instruct  all  children  with  whom 
you  Shall  be  intrusted  in  the  art  of  Writing  and  Arithmetick  for  and 
During  my  Pleasure. 

1  Deeds,  x,  171.  4  Deeds,  x,  326. 

2  H.  Onderdonk,  Jr.  6  Deeds,  x,  66. 

3  Deeds,  x,  65.  T  Deeds,  x,  82. 


in  the  State  of  New  Yo 

Given  under  my  hand  and  Seal  at  fifort  Anne  in  New  Yorke  this 
Seventeenth  day  of  Aprill — in  the  fifth  Year  of  the  Keign  of 
our  Sovereign  Lady  Anne,  by  the  Grace  of  God  of  England, 
Scotland,  flrance  and  Ireland  Queen  Defender  of  the  faith 
etc* — Annoque  Domini  1706 

CORNBURY 
By  his  Exly8  Comand 

Geo.  Clarke,  Secty.1 

Edward  ffitz  Gerald  was  also  licensed,  on  the  first  day  of  May 
next  following,  in  nearly  the  same  words,  to  teach  school  in  West- 
chester county.2 

Some  years  later,  Allane  Jarratt,  afterwards  well  known  as  a  sur- 
veyor, etc.,  made  the  following  application  for  a  license  to  teach  : 

To  his  Excellency  Robert  Hunter  Esqr  Capt.  General  and  Governour 
in  Chief  of  the  Provinces  of  New  York  New  Jersey  and  Territo- 
ries depending  thereon  in  America  and  Yice  Admiral  of  the  same. 

The  Humble  Petition  of  Allane  Jarratt 

Humbly  Sheweth 

That  yor  Petitioner  haveing  by  an  experience  and  practice  of  the 
Art  of  Navigation  and  other  parts  of  the  Mathemat8  for  the  space  of 
fourteen  yeares  after  an  early  education  in  the  most  usfullest  parts 
thereof  acquired  a  competent  Knowledge  therein,  and  being  sensible 
how  much  the  youth  brought  up  in  this  citty  are  at  a  loss  in  goeing  to 
sea  without  a  sufficient  Instruction  in  writeing  and  Arithmetick  and 
in  the  Art  of  Navigation  with  other  usefull  parts  of  theMathematicks 
that  might  be  abundantly  servicable  to  them  in  the  discharge  of  their 
dutyes  at  sea  and  haveing  been  desired  by  several  persons  to  Instruct 
them  privately  having  now  some  leisure  time  but  for  avoiding  pre- 
sumption and  offence 

Your  Petitioner  Humbly  beggs  yor  Excellency's  Lycence  to  teach 
"Writeing,  Arithmetick,  Navigation  and  other  parts  of  the  Mathe- 
maticks,  and  yor  Petitioner  as  in  Duty  bound  shall  ever  pray  &c : 

ALLANE  JARRATT3 

[Endorsed]  15th  July  1612. 

This  application  was  granted,  in  due  form,  as  follows : 

By  his  Excellency  Robert  Hunter  Esqr  [etc.] 
To  Allane  Jarratt  Gent1     Greeting : 
Being  assured  of  yor  experience  and  Knowledge  in  ye  practice  of* 
ye  art  of  Navigation  and  of  all  parts  of  the  Mathematics  I  doe 
hereby  authorize  and  Impower  you  to  Teach  writeing,  arithmetick 
Navigation  and  other  parts  of  mathematicks  to  all  such  persons  as 
shall  be  desirous  to  be  Instructed  therein  within  this  City  or  province 
of  New  York  for  and  during  my  pleasure     Given  under  my  hand 

1  Deeds,  x,  112  ;  N.  Y.  Col.  MSB.,  li,  111.     »N.  Y.  Col  MSB.,  lvii,  190. 
9DeedSi  x,  114 ;  N.  Y.  Teacher,  vii,  273. 


94  Annals  of  Public  Education 

and  Seale  at  fort  Anne  in  ISTew  York  ye  ffourth  day  of  July  in  ye 
Eleaventh  yeare  of  ye  reigne  of  our  Soveraigne  Lady  Anne  by  y6  grace 
of  God  of  Great  Brittaine  ffrance  and  Ireland  Queene  Defender  of  y° 
ffaith  &c,  Annoqe  Dm  1712 

By  his  Excellencies  command  R0 :  HU]SrTEI1 

J  Wileman  D  Secy l 

Mr.  Henry  Onderdonk,  Jr.,  has  furnished  the  following  memo- 
randa relative  to  Friends'  schools: 

1703.  A  schoolmaster  is  deemed  necessary  for  Flushing,  &c.  Houses 
to  be  built  for  Friends'  use,  &c. 

1709.  Thomas  Makins,2  schoolmaster  at  Flushing,  signified  his 
willingness  to  bring  Friends'  children  to  the  week  day  meeting,  &c. 

George  Fox  composed  a  spelling  book  to  initiate  children  in  the 
doctrine  of  Friends.  I  have  seen  2d  edition,  1706.  He  shows  the 
propriety  of  Friends'  names  for  the  months,  days  of  week,  and  use  of 
singular  thee  for  plural  you  in  addressing  one  person  :  all  justified 
by  scripture.  Its  title  page  was  thus:  "An  Instruction  for  right 
Spelling,  Eeading  &  Writing.  [By  Geo.  Fox  &  Ellis  Hooks.] 
London,  1673."  12°.  It  was  reprinted,  with  additions,  1673,  '83, 
'91,  '97,  1700. 

Another  edition :  "  Instructions  for  right  Spelling  and  plain  direc- 
tions for  reading  and  writing  true  English,  &c,  with  several  delight- 
ful things  very  useful  and  necessary  for  young  and  old  to  learn ;  by 
G.  F.  &  E.  H.,  enlarged  by  A.  S. — London,  printed  and  sold  by  T. 
Sowle,  1706 :"  reprinted,  86,  1726. 

It  may  be  remembered  that  mention  of  a  movement  for  establish- 
ing a  Free  School  in  the  town  of  Hempstead  was  made  in  the 
preceding  quotations  from  the  Journal  of  the  Assembly,  relative  to 
the  passage  of  the  free  school  act  of  1702,  though  it  does  not  appear 
that  the  action  proposed  was  carried  into  effect.  Five  years  later,  a 
much  smaller  tract  was  voted  for  the  use  of  the  schoolmaster,  though 
this  action  was  repealed  during  the  same  year,  as  appears  from  the 
following  record : 

1707,  Ap.  1. — By  major  vote  4  acres  in  the  town  spot  are  voted  for 
the  use  of  the  town  for  to  settle  a  schoolmaster  upon  for  to  teach 
children,  the  land  to  be  for  the  use  of  a  school  forever. 

This  act  was  voted  void,  Oct.  20,  1707.8 

A  later  entry  from  the  same  source  is  as  follows : 

1709,  Dec.  12. — The  school  house  is  let  to  Isaac  Jarmin  for  a  year 
xcept  the  leanto  which  is  reserved  for  the  use  of  the  school  at  any 
time  when  a  schoolmaster  presents  for  £4  18,  to  be  pd  the  church 
wardens ;  and  if  the  town  shall  hire  a  schoolmaster,  then  he  shall  go 
forth  of  said  house  at  a  quarter's  warning.4 

1  Deeds,  x,  319,  310. 

2  He  was  at  Philadelphia,  1729,  and  wrote  a  Latin  poem  there  (Descriptio  Penn- 
sylvania).    H.  Onderdonk,  Jr. 

3  A  Hempstead  Records,  D. ,  238,  as  furnished  by  H.  Onderdonk,  Jr. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  95 

It  appears  from  a  petition,  dated  August  1,  1711,  as  quoted  in 
Stiles'  History  of  Brooklyn  (vol.  i,  pp.  180,  181),  that  there  was  in 
Flat  bush  "  one  howse  &  Lot  of  ground  in  the  said  Towne  called  the 
school  howse  conteining  Eight  acres ;"  also,  in  Elatland  "  one  howse 
called  the  School  howse  with  the  land  adjoyning  Containing  two 
acres  or  thereabouts." 

Having  now  reached  the  date  (1709)  of  the  expiration,  by  its  own 
limitation,  of  the  free-school  act  of  1702,  it  is  in  point  to  remark 
that  no  effort  seems  to  have  been  made  to  revive  this  act,  nor, 
indeed,  to  make  like  provision  by  law  for  the  encouragement  of 
schools  of  any  kind,  for  a  period  of  more  than  twenty  years,  and 
none  whatever  in  behalf  of  primary  education,  during  the  remaining 
colonial  history  of  the  State.  Whether  this  suspension  of  legislative 
patronage  resulted  from  growing  indifference  on  the  part  of  public 
men  to  the  importance  of  primary  education,  we  do  not  now  propose 
to  consider ;  we  rather  refer  to  this  subject  for  the  sake  of  introduc- 
ing the  notice  of  a  new  system  of  instruction  which,  under  ecclesias- 
tical supervision,  seems  to  have  in  a  measure  superseded,  for  many 
years,  that  hitherto  provided  by  colonial  and  municipal  authority. 
We  refer  to  the  venerable  "  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gos- 
pel in  Foreign  Parts,"  which,  as  is  well  known,  sent  many  mission 
aries  to  this  country  and  province,  from  its  incorporation,  in  the  yeai 
1701,  until  nearly  the  period  of  the  Revolution  ;  and  which,  also,  at 
the  suggestion  of  Col.  Caleb  Heathcote,  himself  a  member  of  the 
Council  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the  act  of  1702  above  quoted, 
furnished  a  number  of  schoolmasters  for  various  settlements  of  the 
province,  during  a  period  of  more  than  fifty  years.  The  extracts 
hereafter  quoted  from  the  official  history  aud  reports  of  the  Society 
will  more  fully  exhibit  the  facts  on  this  subject. 

The  organization  of  this  beneficent  Society  may  have  been  the 
result,  in  part  at  least,  of  a  suggestion  made  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Bray,  of 
London,  in  an  ordination  sermon,  entitled : 

"  Apostolic  Charity,  its  Nature  and  Excellence  considered,  in  a 
Discourse  upon  Dan.,  12.3.  Preached  at  St.  Paul's  at  the  Ordination 
of  some  Protestant  Missionaries  to  be  sent  into  the  Plantations. 
[December  the  19th,  1697.] 1 

To  which  is  prefixt,  A  General  Yiew  of  the  English  Colonies  in 
America,  with  respect  to  Religion ;  in  order  to  show  what  Provision 

1  This  date  is  inserted  in  writing  in  the  copy  belonging  to  the  Library  of  the  N.  Y. 
Historical  Society. 


96  Annals  of  Public  Education 

is  wanting  for  the  Propagation  of  Christianity  in  those  Parts.     *     * 
By  Thomas  Bray,  D.  D.     London,  1700." 

*  *  *  # 

5.  It  will  be  further  requisite  to  have  free  Schools  erected  at  least 
one  in  every  county,  for  the  Education  of  their  Children :  and  it 
would  in  a  more  especial  manner,  become  the  Professors  of  so  Excel- 
lent a  Eeligion  as  ours,  to  have  a  Provision  made  in  one  or  two 
Schools  at  leastwise,  in  every  Province,  for  the  Instruction  of  half  a 
dozen  Indian  Youth,  to  be  sent  afterwards  amongst  their  own  People, 
to  civilize  and  convert  them  (p.  7,  of  the  above.) 

*  *  *  * 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gos- 
pel, was  to  send  to  the  English  colonies  on  this  continent  a  missionary 
to  make  personal  examination.  The  person  selected  was  the  Eev. 
George  Keith,  whose  journal  relative  to  this  tour  is  contained  in  the 
"  Collections  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Society  for  the  year  1841," 
from  which  volume  we  briefly  quote : 

After  Mr.  Keith  came  over  and  had  made  a  survey  of  the  field 
before  him,  he,  ija  conjunction  with  the  few  clergymen  then  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  country  .  .  .  made  the  following  state- 
ment, designed  for  the  Venerable  Society :     *  *  * 

An  Account  of  the  State  of  the  Church  in  North  America,  by  Mr. 
George  Keith  and  others.  [Nov.  1702.] 

*  *  *  * 

New  Yoke. — There  are  some  counties,  five  of  which  are  inhabited 
by  Dutch,  and  those  of  Dutch  extraction,  viz. :  Albany,  Ulster, 
Dutchess,  Orange  and  King's  County,  in  which  the  Church  and 
Church  of  England  Schools  have  not  yet  been  settled,  but  the  Presence 
of  the  present  Governor  of  that  Province,  his  Excellency  the  Lord 
Cornbury,  has  mightily  influenced  many  of  the  people  of  .the  said 
counties  to  desire  that  Church  of  England  Ministers  and  schoplmasters 
may  be  sent  amongst  them,  particularly  Albany  representatives  have 
desired  his  Lordship  that  an  English  Schoolmaster  might  be  estab- 
lished in  that  county,  .  .  .  this  Province,  though  it  hath  a  great 
number  of  inhabitants,  could  never  yet  obtain  a  public  legally  Estab- 
lished School. 

*  *  *  * 

A  provision  is  made  by  law  for  six  ministers,  .  .  .  There  is  yet 
no  provision  for  Schoolmasters  made  by  law,  though  by  the  zealous 
recommendation  of  the  Lord  Cornbury  to  the  general  Assembly,  a 
legal  maintenance  is  undoubtedly  expected,  and  till  then  the  Church 
of  England  Schoolmaster  in  the  county  of  New  York  as  heretofore, 
will  be  supported  by  the  voluntary  contributions  of  those  whose 
children  are  instructed  by  him ;  notwithstanding  it  is  humbly  Con- 
ceived that  an  annual  Pension  for  the  support  and  further  encourage- 
ment of  some  Ministers  and  Schoolmasters  in  poor  Towns  will  be 
of  great  use  and  service  to  the  Church. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  97 

No  School  house  yet  erected  in  this  Province. 

In  all  these  Counties  where  the  Church  is  established  by  the  law 
of  this  Province,  the  People  generally  are  in  a  readiness  to  embrace 
the  Doctrines  and  Worship  of  the  Church,  and  to  Encourage  Free 
Schools.1 

#  #  #  # 

Col.  Heathcote  seems  to  have  conceived  a  plan  for  the  establish- 
ment of  schools  throughout  the  province,  having  written  to  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  "  Venerable  Society,"  under  date  of  April  10,  1704,  as 
follows : 

*  *  I  had  once  formed  a  projection  for  fixing  schools  in  this  coun- 
try for  the  benefit  of  all  the  youths  therein,  in  order  to  their  being 
trained  up,  not  only  in  learning  but  in  their  tender  years  to  ingraft 
them  in  the  Church,  but  the  storm  which  was  lately  raised  upon  me 
concerning  church  affairs,  made  me  lay  the  thought  of  it  aside  for  a 
while.  However,  if  God  is  pleased  to  spare  my  life  a  little  longer,  I 
will,  with  His  assistance,  set  it  on  foot,  and  hope  it  will  be  blessed 
with  its  desired  effect.2  *  *  *  * 

Under  date  of  June  1,  1704,  Col.  Heathcote  further  writes : 

*  *  I  did  in  my  last  acquaint  you  that  I  would  put  forward  a 
school  in  Westchester  County,  which  I  hope  in  a  few  months  to 
inform  you  I  have  done,  having  the  promise  of  an  extraordinary  good 
man  for  a  school  master,  one  who  is  not  only  very  firm  to  the  Church, 
but  I  am  sure  will  be  indefatigable  to  instill  those  principles  into  the 
youth  and  children,  of  whom  the  greatest  hopes  are,  I  believe.  At 
first  setting  out  it  will  be  attended  with  some  difficulties,  that  I  beg 
the  favor  of  you  to  move  the  Society,  that  they  would  be  pleased 
(until  such  time  as  we  are  able  to  carry  it  on  without  help)  to  give 
us  £16  a  year,  or  what  they  shall  think  convenient  towards  maintain- 
ing of  the  schoolmaster,8  *  *  *  * 

Mr.  Bolton  adds : 

The  school  alluded  to  in  the  foregoing  letter  was  soon  after  organ- 
ized at  Rye,  and  Mr.  Joseph  Cleator  appointed  schoolmaster  by  Col. 
Heathcote.  The  Society  also  at  once  acted  upon  the  request  made 
them,  and  granted  the  sum  of  £15  per  annum  for  his  maintenance.4 

The  annual  "Abstracts  of  Proceedings"  of  the  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel  furnish  much  information  relative  to  the 
schools  and  schoolmasters  under  its  care  in  this  and  other  colonies ; 
from  which  abstracts  we  shall  make  a  few  quotations,  after  having 
given  a  condensed  official  narrative  of  its  educational  work  in  this 
colony,  for  a  series  of  years. 

1  Coll.  of  P.  E.  Hist.  Soc,  for  1851,  pp.  xv-xvii. 

"Bolton's  Hist,  of  the  P.  E.  Church  in  Westchester  Co.,  pp.  28,  29. 

"Idem,  pp.  139,  140.  *  Idem,  p.  140. 


98  Annals  of  Public  Education 

In  the  year  1730,  the  Secretary  of  the  Society  (David  Humphreys, 
D.  D.)  prepared  "  An  Historical  Account  of  the  Incorporated 
Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,"  from 
which  valuable  work  we  quote  at  some  length,  prefacing  the  extracts 
concerning  schoolmasters  with  one  on  ministers ;  the  latter  class 
having  been  in  some  degree  the  means  of  introducing  the  former : 

New-York  Government  is  next;  this  worthy  People  shewed  an 
early  Zeal  for  having  the  Church  of  England  Worship  established 
among  them.  In  the  Year  1693,  an  Act  was  passed  for  settling  the 
Church  of  England  Service  in  some  Counties,  and  a  Provision 
appointed  for  6  Ministers,  one  for  the  City  of  New-  York,  the  Capi- 
tal of  the  Country,  and  the  rest  for  other  principal  Towns.  But 
this  Act  did  not  take  Effect  till  about  the  year  1702,  nor  was  the 
Provision  made  thereby,  or  sufficient  Maintenance  for  the  Ministers 
in  the  County  Towns  :  These  applied  to  the  Society  for  Help ;  par- 
ticularly the  Inhabitants  of  West-chester,  were  very  pressing  for  a 
Minister.  Earnest  Memorials  were  sent  from  the  Inhabitants  of 
New-Rochel,  from  those  of  Jamaica,  and  Ilempsted,  Towns  in  Long- 
Island  /  from  Statten-Island,  and  from  Rye  ;  and  their  Desires  have 
been  comply' d  with,  and  Missionaries  sent  to  those  Places.1 
*  *■  *  # 

In  speaking  of  "  Statten-Island"  and  the  Rev. Mr.  Mackenzie  who 
was  sent  thither  as  a  missionary,  in  1704,  Dr.  Humphreys  remarks : 

*  *  It  was  represented  by  Mr.  Mackenzie,  that  the  greatest  Dis- 
advantage to  Religion,  arose  from  the  Want  of  English  Schools  in 
that  Island.  The  Children  had  no  Education  but  the  little  they 
received  from  their  Parents,  and  that  bound  them  up  to  their  Parents 
Language  and  Principles.  Besides,  there  was  such  a  Diversity  of 
Tongues,  as  English,  French,  and  Dutch,  which  made  it  necessary  to 
settle  a  School  there,  more  than  in  any  other  Place,  in  order  to  unite 
the  Growing  Generation  in  their  Language,  as  well  as  in  their  religi- 
ous Principles. 

The  Society  were  sensible  that  nothing  could  be  more  convenient 
than  the  opening  of  Schools  in  this  Place.  The  whole  Island  was 
divided  into  three  Precincts,  they  appointed  a  Schoolmaster  for  each. 
Mr.  Brown  taught  School  in  the  South  Precinct,  Mr.  Dupuy  in  the 
North,  and  Mr.  Williamson  in  the  West.  Mr.  Dupuy  did  not  keep 
School  long :  Mr.  Potts  succeeded  him.  Afterwards  in  the  Year 
1715,  Mr.  Taylor  was  appointed,  and  continues  still  [1728]  teaching 
School ;  and  several  Accounts  have  been  sent  to  the  Society,  that  he 
teaches  above  40  Scholars,  without  any  consideration  but  the  Society's 
Bounty ;  that  he  instructs  them  in  the  Church-Catechism,  with  the 
Explanation,  teaches  them  to  join  in  Publick  Worship,  and  keeps 
also  a  Night  School  for  the  Instruction  of  the  Negroes,  and  such  as 
cannot  be  spared  from  their  Work  in  the  Day  time.2 


Humphreys'  Historical  Account,  p.  55.  3  Idem,  pp.  218,  219. 


Jiv  the  State  of  New  York.  99 

Dr.  Humphreys  quotes  a  letter  written  to  the  Society,  in  1712,  by 
the  Justices  of  Richmond  county,  from  which  we  copy  these  para- 
graphs : 

We,  Her  Majesty's  Justices  of  the  Peace,  High  Sheriff,  Clerk,  and 
Commander  in  Chief,  of  her  Majesty's  Militia,  in  the  County  of 
Richmond,  as  well  as  for  ourselves,  as  in  the  Name,  and  at  the  Desire 
of  the  other  Inhabitants  of  the  said  County,  Members  of  the  Church 
of  England,  return  our  Thanks,  for  supporting  our  worthy  Pastor, 
Mr.  Mackenzie  among  us ;  whose  unblamable  Life  affords  no  Occasion 
of  Disparagement  to  his  Function,  nor  Discredit  to  his  Doctrine. 

*  *  *  * 

You  have  added  to  the  former,  a  fresh  and  late  Instance  of  your 
Bounty,  in  allowing  a  Support  to  a  Schoolmaster,  for  the  Instruction 
of  our  Youth ;  the  deplorable  want  of  which  hath  been  a  great  Afflic- 
tion to  us.1 

*  #  #  # 

In  his  description  of  Long  Island  and  its  affairs,  Dr.  Humphreys, 
epeaking  of  Rev.  Mr.  Thomas,  says : 

*  *  He  wrote  that  there  was  a  great  want  of  Schools;  the 
younger  People  and  Children  were  growing  up  in  a  miserable  Igno- 
rance, for  Want  of  being  taught  to  read ;  and  he  could  not  perform 
one  Part  of  his  Pastoral  Office,  Catechizing,  for  Want  of  a  School- 
master to  teach  the  Children  to  read.  The  Society  appointed  Mr. 
Gildersleeve  Schoolmaster  there,  in  the  year  1713,  and  allowed  him  a 
Salary  to  teach  the  poorer  Children  Reading,  Writing  and  the  Rudi- 
ments of  Arithmetic.  The  Yestry  of  this  Parish  wrote  the  Society  a 
Letter  on  this  Occasion,  wherein  they  say :  u  Without  your  Bounty 
and  Charity,  our  poor  Children  would  undoubtedly  want  all  Educa- 
tion ;  our  People  are  poor,  and  settled  distantly  from  one  another, 
and  unable  to  board  out  their  Children."  The  Society  sent  Quanti- 
ties of  Paper  for  the  Use  of  the  School,  Catechisms,  and  large  num- 
bers of  Common-Prayer-Books,  which  proved  of  great  Benefit  to  the 
Younger  People.  The  Youth  was  instructed,  made  their  Responses 
regularly  at  Church,  and  Divine  Service  was  performed  with  more 
Knowledge  and  Decency.8 

*  *  *  * 

The  following  summary  statement  is  given  by  the  same  authority : 

The  Society  have  from  their  first  Establishment,  paid  Salaries  to 
several  Schoolmasters  in  this  Government.  Mr.  Qilderslieve  at 
Henvpsted  in  Long  Island,  and  Mr  Taylor  in  Statten-Island,  have 
been  mentioned  already.  Mr.  Huddlestone  was'  appointed  School- 
master in  New-  York  City,  in  the  Year  1709 ;  he  taught  40  poor 
Children  for  the  Society's  Allowance  only ;  he  publickly  catechised 
in  the  Steeple  of  Trmity  Church  on  Sunday  in  the  Afternoon,  not 

1  Humphreys'  Hist.  Acc't,  pp.  220,  221.  a  Idem,  pp.  224,  225. 


100  Annals  of  Public  Education 

only  his  own  Scholars,  but  also  the  Children,  Servants  and  Slaves  of 
the  Inhabitants,  and  above  100  Persons  usually  attended  him  ;  Certi- 
ficates attested  by  the  Mayor  of  New-  York,  were  Annually  sent  to 
the  Society,  certifying  his  doing  such  Service.  He  died  in  the  Year 
1726 ;  and  his  Son  being  desirous  and  capable  of  the  Office,  is 
appointed  now  in  his  Room.  Mr.  Glover  was  appointed  Schoolmas- 
ter at  Westchester  in  the  Year  1714,  and  afterwards  Mr.  Forster  ;  he 
teaches  between  30  and  40  Children,  Catechises  on  Saturday  and  Sun- 
day, which  is  certified  by  the  Minister  and  chief  Inhabitants  of  that 
Town.  Mr.  Cleator  was  settled  Schoolmaster  at  Rye,  in  the  Year 
1704 ;  he  teaches  about  50  Children  to  Eead  and  Write,  and  instructs 
them  in  the  Catechism.  And  Mr.  Denton  hath  been  lately  appointed 
Schoolmaster  at  Oysterbay  in  Long-Island. 

The  Society  have  paid  Salaries  to  Six  Schoolmasters,  besides  a 
Catechist,  for  the  Slaves  at  New-  York  in  this  Government ;  and  have 
sent  Bibles,  Common-Prayers,  and  other  Books  of  Devotion  or 
Instruction,  to  the  Number  of  2220  Volumes,  besides  Catechisms, 
and  small  Tracts  which  have  been  dispersed  among  the  People  by 
the  Missionaries,  or  among  the  Children  by  the  Schoolmasters.1 


In  a  chapter  of  the  same  work,  on  the  "  Endeavors  to  Instruct  the 
Negroe  Slaves,"  Dr.  Humphreys  says  of  the  Society : 

*  *  They  opened  a  Catechising  School  for  the  Slaves  at  New- 
York,  in  the  Year  1704,  in  which  City  there  were  computed  to  be 
about  1500  Negroe  and  Indian  Slaves,  and  many  of  their  Masters 
wrell  disposed  to  have  them  made  Christians.  The  Society  hoped 
this  Example  set,  might  kindle  a  Zeal  in  some  other  good  People,  to 
carry  on  this  Work,  which  they  were  unable  to  effect ;  and  to  erect 
Schools  for  the  Instruction  of  the  Negroes,  and  employ  Catechists  to 
teach  them  at  appointed  Times ;  and  that  the  Legislature  in  the 
Colonies,  would,  by  a  Law,  oblige  all  Slaves  to  attend  for  their 
Instruction.  The  Society  found  soon,  it  was  not  easie  to  procure  a 
Person  proper  to  be  a  Catechist.  Mr.  Elias  Neau,  a  Layman,  then 
living  in  New-  York  City,  as  a  Trader,  was  represented  to  be  the 
properest  Person  for  that  Office.  He  was  by  Nation  a  Frenchman, 
had  made  a  Confession  of  the  Protestant  Religion  in  France,  for 
which  he  had  been  confined  several  years  in  Prison,  and  seven  Years 
in  the  Gallies.  When  he  got  released,  he  went  to  New-  York,  and 
traded  there,  and  had  the  Character,  from  Persons  of  all  Persuasions, 
of  a  Man  of  Piety,  of  sober  Deportment,  and  serious  Life. 

He  accepted  of  the  Offer  of  being  Catechist ;  and  his  former  Suf- 
ferings on  the  Account  of  his  Religion,  did,  with  great  Advantage 
recommend  him  to  be  a  Teacher  of  the  Christian  Faith ;  and  his 
Humility  enabled  him  to  bear  with  the  many  Inconveniences  in 
teaching  those  poor  People.  He  entered  upon  his  Office,  in  the  year 
1704,  with  great  Diligence.  At  first  he  was  obliged  to  go  from 
House  to  House,  to  instruct  the  Negroes,  this  was  out  of  Measure 

1  Humphreys'  Hist.  Acc't,  pp.  228,  229. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  101 

laborious ;  afterwards  lie  got  Leave,  that  they  should  come  to  his 
House;  this  was  a  considerable  Relief.  There  were  two  Obstruc- 
tions still ;  the  Time  was  much  too  short,  and  the  Place  was  incon- 
venient, .  .  .  being  the  uppermost  Floor  in  Mr.  Neau^s 
House.  *  *  *  * 

This  was  a  Work  of  great  Pains  and  Humility ;  Mr.  Neau  per- 
formed it  diligently ;  discoursing  familiarly  with  those  poor  People, 
and  laboring  earnestly  to  accommodate  his  Discourse  to  their  Capaci- 
ties. 

*  *  The  Society  had  Accounts  from  Time  to  Time  of  Mr. 
Neau's  Diligence  and  good  Success ;  particularly  one  very  ample  Testi- 
monial signed  by  the  Governor  of  the  Country  (Robert  Hunter  Esq ;) 
the  Council,  the  Mayor,  and  Recorder  of  New-York,  and  the  two 
Chief  Justices ;  Mr.  Neau  persevered  with  the  same 

Diligence,  till  the  Year  1722,  in  which  he  died,  much  regretted  by 
all  who  knew  his  Labours.  Mr.  Huddlestone,  then  School  master  in 
New-  York,  did  for  some  Time  supply  his  Place,  and  used  to  teach 
the  Negroes,  in  the  Church  Steeple,  every  Sunday  before  Sermon, 
and  at  his  own  House  after  Sermon.  In  a  little  Time  the  Society 
sent  the  Reverend  Mr.  Wetmore  to  be  Catechist  there,  and  received 
Accounts  of  his  discharging  his  Duty  diligently.  .  .  .  He  after- 
wards desired  to  be  appointed  Missionary  at  Rye  in  that  Government 
and  the  Society  complyed  with  his  Request,  .  .  .  The  Society  .  . 
sent  the  Reverend  Mr.  Colgan  in  1726,  to  be  Catechist  there. * 


The  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts, 
as  early  as  1710,  made  efforts  to  evangelize  the  Five  Nations,  and 
also  to  furnish  them  the  means  of  elementary  education.  The  pro- 
gress and  results  of  their  attempts  in  this  direction  are  given  in  the 
following  extracts  from  Dr.  Humphreys'  narrative  : 

*  *  *  * 

A  Committee  met,  and  it  was  agreed  there,  and  afterward  by  the 
Society  at  a  general  Meeting,  that  two  Missionaries  should  be  sent  to 
the  Mohock  and  Oncydes  Indians  ;  with  a  Salary  of  1501  Sterling 
each,  together  with  an  Interpreter  and  Schoolmaster,  to  teach  the 
young  Indians.  *  * 

Mr.  Andrews  was  appointed  Missionary  among  the  Mohocks,  and 
Mr.  Clausen,  who  had  been  several  Years  employed  as  Interpreter  by 
the  Government  of  New-  York,  in  Transactions  with  the  Indians, 
was  received  as  Interpreter  to  Mr.  Andrews,  and  Mr.  Oliver  was 
made  Schoolmaster.  Mr.  Andrews  was  particularly  directed  by  the 
Society  to  use  all  possible  Means  to  persuade  the  Indians  to  let  their 
Children  iearn  English,  and  the  Schoolmaster  was  to  make  it  his 
whole  Business  to  teach  them.  The  Society  were  now  in  good  Hopes 
this  Attempt  would  prove  successful,  since  Her  Majesty  [Queen 
Anne]  was  so  graciously  pleased  to  provide  for  the  Security  of  the 

1  Humphreys'  Hist.  Acc't,  pp.  236-239,  243-245. 


102  •  Annals  of  Public  Education 

Missionary  by  building  a  Fort  just  by  the  Mohocks  Castle,  to  which 
the  men  and  Children  might  easily  resort  to  be  instructed. 
#  #  *  # 

The  Schoolmaster  Mr.  Oliver  opened  his  School.  The  Indians  at 
first  sent  many  of  their  Children,  he  began  to  teach  them  English, 
the  parents  obstinately  refused  to  have  them  taught  English.  All 
possible  Endeavors  were  used  to  persuade  them  ;  they  still  persisted. 
Mr.  Andrews  sent  this  Account  to  the  Society,  and  rather  than  quite 
break  with  the  Indians,  the  Schoolmaster  and  Interpreter  began  to 
teach  the  Children  a  little  in  Indian.  The  Society  were  forced  to 
comply  with  the  Indians  Obstinacy.  They  procured  an  Impression 
of  Hornbooks  and  Primmers  in  Indian  for  the  Children,  sent  them 
great  Numbers,  as  also  leathern  Inkhorns,  Penknives,  a  Quantity  of 
Paper  of  several  Sorts,  and  several  other  little  Necessaries.  The 
Children  were  now  taught  in  Indian,  and  were  treated  with  great 
Kindness,  no  Correction  dared  to  be  used,  for  the  Parents  were  so 
fond  of  their  Children,  and  valued  Learning  so  little,  they  thought  it 
not  worth  gaining,  at  the  least  displeasing  of  their  Children.  To 
engage  them  farther  to  learn,  Mr.  Andrews  used  to  give  the  Children 
who  came  to  School,  Victuals,  and  some  small  Utensils  for  their 
Parents.  The  Children  used  often  to  come  for  the  Sake  of  getting 
Victuals ;  for  the  Indians  are  frequently  drove  to  great  Extremities, 
on  Account  of  their  making  little  or  no  Provision  beforehand.  The 
Children  had  a  good  natural  Capacity,  and  an  Aptness  for  Learning. 
Many  of  them  begun  to  read,  and  some  to  write.  This  Method  of 
giving  them  Victuals  engaged  the  Parents  to  send  them,  for  some 
time,  to  School. 

In  the  mean  Time,  Mr.  Andrews  proceeded  to  instruct  the  grown 
Indians  by  Help  of  the  Interpreter,  in  some  of  the  chief  Articles  of 
Faith  and  Rules  of  Life.  .  .  .  The  Society,  since  they  could 
by  no  Means  prevail  on  the  Indians  to  learn  English,  neither  young 
nor  old,  laboured  to  get  some  good  Translations  made,  of  Parts  of  the 
Scripture  at  least,  into  the  Indian  Language..  .  .  .  The 
Society  were  very  much  assisted  in  this  by  Mr.  Freeman^  a  very 
worthy  Calvinist  Minister.  He  had  been  five  Years  Minister  at 
Schenectady  to  a  Dutch  Congregation,  and  had  been  employed  by  the 
Earl  of  Bellamont  in  the  year  1700,  to  convert  the  Indians.  He  had 
a  good  Knowledge  of  the  Dialect  of  the  Mohocks,  which  is  under- 
stood by  all  the  Iroquois,  who  reach  near  400  Miles  beyond  Albany. 
The  Society  applied  to  him  for  any  proper  Papers  wrote  in  that  Lan- 
guage, which  he  might  have.  ...  He  very  frankly  gave 
the  Society  a  Copy  of  these  Translations,  which  were  sent  to  Mr. 
Andrews  for  his  Help,  and  they  were  a  great  Help  to  him.  He  used 
frequently  to  read  some  of  these  to  the  Indians,  and  they  could  com- 
prehend well  enough  by  his  reading.  But  the  Society  were  desirous 
some  Part  of  the  Scripture  might  be  printed  in  Indi-an,  and  the 
Copies  given  to  the  Indians,  and  they  taught  at  least  to  read  that. 

1  Bernardus  Freeman,  minister  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  Schenectady,  and 
after  1701,  of  Flatbush,  L.  I.     (H.  Onderdonk,  Jr.) 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  ]03 

Accordingly  the  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer,  the  Litany,  the 
Church  Catechism,  Family-Prayers,  and  several  Chapters  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testament,  were  printed  at  New-York;  the  Copies  were 
sent  to  Mr.  Andrews,  and  he  gave  them  to  such  of  the  Indians  as 
knew  anything  of  Letters.  *  *  * 

In  a  short  time,  the  Indians  grew  weary  of  Instruction,  the  Men 
grown,  would  go  out  in  Bodies  a  hunting  for  several  Months,  and 
forget  all  they  had  been  taught ;  and  the  young  Boys  when  they  grew 
up,  were  taken  out  by  their  Fathers  to  hunt,  and  so  lost  all  they  had 
got.  This  roving  Life  utterly  destroyed  all  the  Missionary  and 
Schoolmaster's  Labours.  *  *  * 

Mr.  Andrews  wrote  several  Accounts  more  in  1718,  that  all  his 
Labours  proved  ineffectual,  the  Indians  would  not  send  their  Chil- 
dren to  School,  and  no  Body  came  to  the  Chapel ;  that  the  four  other 
Nations  of  the  Iroquois,  as  they  came  by  the  Mohocks  Castle,  insulted 
and  threatened  him,  that  the  Interpreter  and  Schoolmaster  perceived 
all  their  Labour  was  lost,  and  that  they  were  frequently  in  Danger  of 
their  Lives  if  they  went  out  of  the  Fort.  The  Society  received  these' 
Accounts  with  much  Dissatisfaction,  as  being  extremely  contrary  to 
what  their  good  Desires  had  made  them  hope.  However,  they  were 
so  unwilling  to  abandon  this  wretched  People  to  themselves,  that 
they  would  not  dismiss  Mr.  Andrews  from  his  Mission  upon  his  own 
Representation  of  his  ill  Success.  They  wrote  to  the  Governor  of 
New  York,  Robert  Hunter  Esq ;  acquainted  him  with  the  Accounts 
they  had  received,  and  requested  the  Favour  of  his  Excellency,  to 
cause  an  Inquiry  to  be  made,  whether  Mr.  Andrews  Labours  were  so 
fruitless  among  the  Indians,  and  submitted  it  to  his  Judgment  to  dis- 
miss Mr.  Andrews,  if  they  should  be  found  so.  The  Accounts  trans- 
mitted hither  were  found  true  upon  Examination,  and  Mr.  Andrews 
left  that  miserable  Race  of  Men.1 

The  following  specimen  quotations  from  the  Society's  annual 
"  Abstracts  of  Proceedings,"  are  also  of  interest  in  this  connection : 

*  *•  The  Inhabitants  and  Freeholders  in  the  Town  of  Bye  and 
Mamaroneck,  in  the  Province  of  New  York,  become  humble  Suppli- 
cants to  the  Lord  Bishop  of  london,  that  Mr.  Joseph  Cleator,  whose 
Affairs  required  his  attendance  in  England,  might  obtain  such  an 
Allowance  from  the  Society,  as  with  what  they  were  able  to  give 
him  might  encourage  his  Return  among  them,  to  teach  School  for 
the  Instruction  of  their  Children 2     *     * 

*  *  They  have  allowed  a  Salary  to  Mr.  Cleator  a  School-Master 
at  Rye  in  the  Province  of  New  York.8 

*  *  *  # 

IY.  Besides  the  Missionaries  (with  whom  the  Society  has  liberally 
provided  several  of  Her  Majesty's  Colonies,  even  beyond  the  narrow 


1  Humphreys'  Hist.  Acc't,  pp.  294,  295,  299-305,  310,  311. 

8  Account  of  the  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,    *    *    1706, 
p.  65. 
3  Idem,  pp.  36,  37. 


104  Annals  of  Public  Education 

Bounds  of  their  Income)  there  has  been  a  great  Demand  upon  them 
for  Catechists  and  School-Masters  to  Instruct  not  only  the  Servants 
and  Slaves  (who  have  hitherto  lived  as  without  God  in  the  World)  but 
also  the  Children  of  the  Planters,  especially  the  poorer  sort,  in  Read- 
ing, Writing  and  the  Principles  of  the  Christian  Religion,  as  Taught 
and  Professed  in  the  Church  of  England  ;  but  the  Narrowness  of  their 
fund  having  obliged  the  Society  to  send  but  few  of  these,  a  worthy  mem- 
ber of  their  body,  Colonel  Heathcote  of  New  York,  has  suggested  an 
expedient  of  maintaining  a  great  many  more  School-Masters,  at  the 
easy  rate  of  Five  or  Six  Pounds  per  annum,  which  the  Society  has 
most  readily  embraced,  and  referred  it  to  the  Governor  himself,  and 
the  Missionaries  of  that  Province,  to  put  the  proposal  into  Practice.1 

*  *  *  * 

Of  the  two  persons  recommended  for  Staten  Island,  in  the  following 
extract,  Dr.  Humphreys'  "  Historical  Account "  mentions  Mr.  Brown 
only  ;  and  we  have  seen  no  other  notice  of  Mr.  Drewit : 

*  *  Mr.  Mackenzy,  the  Society's  Missionary  in  Staten  Island  in 
the  Province  of  New  York,  having  informed  them  how  much  they 
wanted  School-Masters,  to  instruct  the  children  of  the  English,  Dutch 
and  French,  in  the  said  Island,  and  having  recommended  Mr.  Adam 
Brown,  and  Mr.  Benjamin  Drewit,  for  that  Purpose,  the  Society 
made  choice  of  them  both  ;  and  in  the  City  of  New  York,  they  have 
given  a  little  Pension  to  Mr.  William  Huddleston,  the  chief  School- 
Master  there,  upon  condition  that  he  shall  Teach  40  poor  children 
gratis,  after  the  same  manner  as  they  are  instructed  in  our  Charity 
Schools  here  in  England? 

*  *  *  * 

One  of  the  greatest  Cares  incumbent  on  the  Society  for  this  last 
Year,  has  been  to  encourage  the  Instruction  and  better  Education  of 
Children  and  Youth,  as  well  Indian  as  English,  to  breed  them  to 
Civility  and  good  Conscience,  in  the  Knowledge  of  Letters,  and  the 
Principles  and  Practice  of  Christian  Religion  ;  to  which  purpose  they 
retain'd  and  rewarded  such  Teachers  and  Masters  as  they  found  there 
capable  and  willing  to  be  Ainployed ;  and  sent  over  others,  with  Books, 
and  Salaries  sufficient  for  them.3       *       * 

*  *  *  * 

Y.  As  to  Catechists  or  School-m&sters,  the  Society  have,  as  their 
Ability  would  permit,  answered  many  Demands  upon  them  on  that 
Head  also,  .  .  .  By  continuing  Mr.  William  Huddleston' ]s  Salary 
of  101  per  Ann.  for  his  care  of  the  School  at  New  York,  (the  Mainte- 
nance of  which  was  before  uncertain  and  precarious)  ;  By  granting 
101  per  annum  each  to  Mr.  Francis  Williamson,  and  Mr.  John  de 
Puy,  for  their  Pains  in  the  School-way  at  Staten  Island,  so  satisfac- 
tory to  the  worthy  Missionary  there,  the  Reverend  Mr.  ^Eneus. 
Mackenzy,  and  so  beneficial  to  the  People  as  appears  by  an  Address 

1  Abs.  of  Proc.  of  Soc.  for  Prop,  of  Gospel,  1710-11,  p.  28. 

2  Idem,  p.  32. 
1  Idem,  p.  48. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  105 

of  the  Justices  of  Richmond  County,  dated  June  13,  1712,  and  by 
coming  to  a  unanimous  resolution,  that  Three  more  should  be  forth- 
with allow'd  the  Society's  Pay,  as  Chatechists  or  School-masters ;  one 
for  the  town  of  Hampstead  in  Long  Island,  at  10Z  per  Annum,  upon 
the  Request  of  Mr.  John  Tho?nas,  Missionary  there,  who  represents 
the  Children  thereof,  for  want  of  Letters  and  Education,  as  wild, 
uncultivated  and  unimproved,  as  the  soil  was  when  their  Fore- 
fathers first  had  it.  A  Second,  at  the  Request  of  the  Reverend 
Mr.  Bridge,  Minister  of  Rye,  for  the  Service  of  two  places  in 
that  Parish,  distant  from  his  Church,  where  several  children  want 
Instruction,  who  shall  be  allow'd  51  per  Annum  each,  on  a  certificate 
that  they  have  taught  30  such,  the  Bible,  the  Catechism,  and  the  Use  of 
the  Liturgy :  .       .To  render  this  Branch  of  the  Society's 

Care,  which  relates  to  the  Education  of  Cateclmmens,  and  the  Supply 
of  Missionaries  more  effectual,  it  has  been  promised,  in  former 
Accounts,  that  the  worthy  Colonel  Ileathcoafs  Proposal,  of  easie 
Ways  for  maintaining  Charity-Schools  in  America,  by  an  Allowance 
of  5  or  61  a  year  to  each ;  .  .  .  should  be  respectively  improv'd, 
when  the  Society  should  be  in  circumstances  j1 

•jf  ,  *  #•  * 

The  Society  have  received  also  a  letter  from  Mr.  Thomas  Huddle- 
stone,  Schoolmaster  at  New  York,  acquainting  with  the  condition 
of  his  School,  and  inclosing  a  certificate  from  the  Mayor  of  New 
York  of  the  number  of  his  Scholars,  and  of  his  Diligence  in  his 
School,  whereby  it  appear'd  that  he  teaches  40  poor  Children  for  the 
Society's  Allowance  only,  which  being  then  but  fifteen  Pound  per 
Annum,  the  Society  have  for  his  encouragement  increased  his  Salary 
to  twenty  Pound  per  Annum:  and  upon  his  representing  to  the 
Society  the  great  Want  of  Books  for  the  poor  Children,  they  have 
sent  him  twelve  Bibles  with  the  Common  Prayer,  twelve  Testa- 
ments, twelve  Psalters,  twelve  Expositions  of  the  Catechism,  and 
twelve  Primers.2 

■*  *  •*  # 

From  Mr.  Hudlestone,  Schoolmaster  at  New  York,  That  he  teaches 
fifty  poor  children  on  the  Society's  Bounty  to  read  and  write,  and 
instructs  them  in  the  Church  Catechism,  many  of  which  are  now  fit 
for  any  Trade ;  and  as  they  go  off,  his  number  is  always  kept  up, 
poor  People  daily  coming  to  see  if  there  is  any  vacancy  to  admit 
their  Children,  being  not  able  themselves  to  pay  for  their  Learning.3 

The  following   extracts  belong  to   a  period   subsequent  to   that 

embraced  in  Dr.  Humphreys'  Historical  Account : 

*  *  #  * 

*  *  The  Society  also  have  received  an  Account  from  Mr.  Reasly* 
Schoolmaster  at  Albany,  in  the  Province  of  New   York,  That  he 

1  Abs.  of  Proc,  etc.,  1712-18,  pp.  40,  41.  s  Abs.  of  Proa ,  etc.,  172&-9,  p.  45. 

9Abs.  of  Proc,  etc.,  1725-6,  p.  41. 
1  4  Seems  to  have  been  afterwards  a  Missionary  and  Schoolmaster  at  "  JSt.  John's 
Town  in  New  Foundland ,"  the  name  being  given  as  "  Peasley."    (Abs.  of  Proc.  etc., 
1747-8,  p.  35.) 


V 


106  Annals  of  Public  Education 

hatli  lately  instructed  8  Negroes,  viz. :  6  Adults  and  2  Children,  who 
have  been  baptized  by  the  Reverend  Mr.  Miln,  the  Society's  Mis- 
sionary at  Albany.1 

#  -  "  ;  '■»■■'  #'■'*■' # 

The  Reverend  Mr.  Colgan,  Minister  at  Jamaica,  on  Long  Island, 
writes  Octob.  11,  1737,  .  .  .  Mr.  Colgan  hath  sent  likewise  a 
Certificate  of  the  good  conduct  of  Mr.  Willett,  the  Society's  School- 
master there ;  that  he  is  of  an  exemplary  life  and  Conversation,  and 
teaches  School  with  Diligence :  The  Number  of  his  Scholars  being 
forty-three,  of  whom  twenty-three  are  taught  gratis  by  the  Society's 
Bounty.2 

*  *  Mr.  Noxon,  the  Schoolmaster,  writes  from  New  York, 
August  6,  1738,  That  he  hath  upwards  of  fifty  poor  Children,  whom 
he  teaches  to  read,  write  and  cypher  upon  the  Society's  Charity ;  and 
brings  to  Trinity  Church,  on  Wednesdays,  Fridays  and  Holy  Days, 
to  be  catechised.  He  adds,  there  is  great  want  of  Common  Prayer- 
Books  and  Psalters :  And  the  Reverend  Mr.  Commissary  Vesey,  by 
a  letter  of  Aug.  10,  1738,  attests,  that  Mr.  Noxon  is  diligent  in  his 
office,  and  of  a  good  Life  and  Conversation : 8        *  *  * 

The  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  Indians,  which  were  abandoned  in 
1718,  were  subsequently  renewed  with  more  favorable  results : 

*  *  *  * 

However,  the  Society  mindful  of  the  Apostolical  Advice,  not  to  be 
weary  in  well-doing,  resolved  to  make  another  attempt ; 
and  on  August  30th,  1736,  Mr.  Barclay  wrote  from  the  same  place 
[Fort  Hunter],  that  the  Indians  continued  to  attend  devoutly  every 
Lord's-day,  and  understood  him  perfectly  well,  he  having  made  him- 
self Master  of  the  Pronunciation  of  their  Language,  which  was  very 
difficult,  the  Words  being  many  of  them  as  long  as  Sentences  with  a . 
great  rumbling  Sound :  and  that  he  taught  40  young  Mohocks  to 
read,  and  write,  most  of  whom  made  good  progress ;  and  he  kept  a 
Catechetical  School  in  the  Evenings,  at  which  both  old  and  young 
attended.4  *  *  *  #  * 

*  *  Mr.  Barclay  intreats  the  Society,  if  it  can  by  any  means 
be  afforded,  to  appoint  an  Indian  Schoolmaster  to  teach  their  youth 
to  read  their  own  Language,  there  being  several  Indians  well  quali- 
fied for  that  office ;  the  Society  hath  directed  Mr.  Barclay  to  appoint 
one  of  them  to  it,  with  the  approbation  of  Lieutenant-Governor 
Clarke,  and  of  the  Commissioners  for  Indian  Affairs  there.5  •    *      * 

*  *  He  [Mr.  Barclay]  hath  appointed,  with  the  Consent  and 
Approbation  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor  Clarke,  and  the  Commis- 
sioners for  Indian  Affairs,  Mohock  Schoolmasters  at  their  two  Towns, 
viz. :  Cornelius  a  Sachem  at  the  lower,  and  one  Daniel  at  the  upper 
Town,  who  are  both  very  diligent  and  teach  the  young  Mohocks  with 
surprising  success.6  *  *  *  * 

1  Abs.  of  Proc,  etc.,  1732-3,  p.  48.  4  Abs.  of  Proc,  etc.,  1739-40,  pp.  69,  71. 

2  Abs.  of  Proc,  etc.,  1738-9,  pp.  54,  55.     5  Abs.  of  Proc,  etc,  1740-41,  pp.  62,  63 

*  Abs.  of  Proc,  etc.,  1738-9,  pp.  55,  56.      °  Abs.  of  Proc,  etc.,  1742-3,  pp.  46,  47. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  107 

It  will  appear  from  the  list  of  Schoolmasters  hereafter  given,  that 
teachers  for  the  Indians  were  maintained  by  the  Society,  for  about  a 
quarter  of  a  century  from  this  period. 

We  add  a  few  more  items  relative  to  the  English  Schools,  prior  to 
1746: 

*  Mr.  Taylor,  the  Society's  Schoolmaster  at  Staten  Island 
being  dead,  the  Society  upon  a  Petition  and  Recommendation  from 
the  Reverend  Mr.  Arnold  their  Missionary,  and  from  the  Church 
wardens  and  vestry  of  the  Church  of  Staten  Island,  of  Mr.  Andrew 
Wright,  as  a  Person  of  Good  Morals,  and  a  constant  Communicant, 
and  well  qualified  to  teach,  hath  appointed  him  School  master  there 
to  instruct  the  poor  white,  and  black  children  also,  if  any  such  are 
brought  to  him,  gratis,  in  the  Principles  of  Christianity,  and  to  read 
the  Bible  and  the  Common-prayer  Book. 

And  Mr.  Commissary  Vesey,  together  with  Mr.  Colgan  the  Society's 
Missionary  at  Jamaica  on  Long  Island,  having  recommended  Mr. 
John  Moore,  who  hath  had  his  Education  in  Yale  College  in  New 
Haven,  and  designs  to  offer  himself  a  candidate  for  Holy  Orders 
when  the  Society  shall  encourage  him  to  come  to  England  for  them 
as  the  person  most  proper  in  the  mean  time  to  succeed  to  the  vacant 
school  at  Jamaica,  the  Society  hath  condescended  thereto,  and  if  his 
Behaviour  shall  deserve  it,  will  hereafter  take  farther  Notice  of  him.1 
*  -x-  *  * 

And  as  the  maintenance  of  a  learned  and  orthodox  Clergy  abroad, 
though  the  principal,  is  not  the  only  Intent  of  this  Corporation, 
but  they  are  also  to  make  such  other  Provision  as  shall  he  found 
necessary  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts:  The 
Society  have  done  all  in  their  Power  to  encourage  the  setting  up  of 
Schools,  that  the  rising  Generation  may  be  brought  up  in  the  Nur- 
ture and  Fear  of  the  Lord,  and  they  give  Salaries  to  three  Cate- 
chists  and  twelve  Schoolmasters  for  this  purpose.2 

Standing    Orders   of  the    Society  for  the   Propagation  of  the 

Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts. 

*  *  *  * 

VIII.  Orders  relating  to  the  Schoolmasters. 

I.  That  no  person  be  admitted  a  Schoolmaster,  till  he  bring  Certi- 
ficates, with  respect  to  the  Particulars  following  : 

1.  The  Age  of  the  Person. 

2.  His  condition  of  Life,  whether  Single,  or  Married. 

3.  His  Temper. 

4.  His  Prudence. 

5.  His  Learning. 

6.  His  sober  and  pious  Conversation. 

7.  His  Zeal  for  the  Christian  Religion,  and  Diligence  in  his  Calling. 

1  Abs.  of  Proa,  etc.,  1742-3,  pp.  47,  48. 

8  Dr.  Bearcroft's  Sermon  before  the  Society,  Feb.  15, 1744-45,  p.  16. 


108  Annals  of  Public  Education 

8.  His  affection  to  the  present  Government. 

9.  His  Conformity  to  the  Doctrine  and  Discipline  of  the  Church 
of  England. 

II.  That  no  Person  be  sent,  as  a  Schoolmaster  by  the  Society,  till 
he  has  been  try'd  and  approv'd  by  Three  Members,  appointed  by  the 
Society  or  Committee,  who  shall  testify,  by  Word  or  Writing,  his 
Ability  to  teach  Reading,  Writing,  and  the  Catechism  of  the  Church 
of  England^  and  such  Exposition  thereof,  as  the  Society  shall  order. 

III.  That  no  Testimonials  shall  be  allow'd  of,  but  such  as  are  signed 
by  the  respective  Minister  of  the  Parish  where  any  such  Schoolmas- 
ter sent  over  to  the  Plantations,  last  lived  ;  and  where  that  is  not 
practicable,  by  some  other  Persons  of  Credit  and  Note,  three  at  least, 
of  the  Communion  of  the  Church  of  England,  (whereof  one  to  be  a 
Clergyman)  and  such,  as  shall  be  well  known  to  some  of  the  Members 
of  the  Society. 

IV.  That  no  Testimonials,  or  Certificates  shall  be  allowed  of  for 
any  Schoolmaster,  without  first  consulting  the  Persons,  who  are  said 
to  have  signed  such  Testimonials  or  Certificates. 

V.  That  all  Schoolmasters,  in  Matters,  which  they  desire  should 
be  laid  before  the  Society,  do  correspond  only  with  the  President,  or 
Secretary  of  the  Society. 

VI.  That  in  order  to  the  Keeping  a  due  Correspondence  with  the 
Secretary,  the  Society's  Schoolmasters  do  take  a  Receipt  of  the  Mas- 
ter of  the  Ship  (if  it  can  be  obtained)  for  every  Letter  they  send  to 
the  Society,  mentioning  the  Day  and  Year,  when  they  delivered  the 
same ;  And,  that  they  keep  copies  of  the  Letters  and  Papers  trans- 
mitted to  the  Society,  sending  Duplicates  by  the  next  Conveyance, 
and  therewith  a  Copy  of  the  Receipt  for  their  original  Letters ;  And 
also,  that  if  the  Place  of  their  Residence  be  not  a  Sea-Port  they  send 
such  Letters  to  one  of  their  Brethren  who  resides,  at  such  Sea-Port, 
desiring  him  to  forward  the  same  by  the  first  Opportunity,  taking  the' 
like  Receipt :  And  lastly,  that  they  give  an  Account  of  the  Time,  and 
the  Ship's  Name,  by  which  they  receive  any  Letter  from  the  Society. 

VII.  That  the  School-masters,  who  are  received  into  the  Society's 
Service  before  the  Seasons  of  Spring  and  Autumn  yearly,  and  do  not 
proceed  on  their  Voyage  to  the  Place  appointed  them  within  the 
respective  Seasons,  be  dismiss'd  the  Service  of  the  Society. 

VIII.  That  if  any  School-master,  in  the  Service  of  the  Society, 
shall  return  from  the  Plantations,  without  Leave  first  had  from  the 
Society,  such  School-master  shall  receive  no  further  Allowance  from 
the  Time,  he  shall  leave  his  Service  there. 

IX.  That  all .  School-masters  sent  over  to  the  Plantations  by  the 
Society,  (being  married  Men)  be  oblig'd  to  take  their  Wives  with 
them,  unless  they  can  offer  such  reasons,  as  shall  induce  the  Society 
to  dispense  therewith. 

X.  That  the  Salary  of  every  School-master,  who  is  not  dismissed 
the  Service  for  some  Misdemeanor,  shall  continue  one  Year,  and  no 
longer,  after  the  Society  have  resolv'd  at  their  Board  to  dismiss  such 
Person  from  their  Service. 

XL  That  the  Salaries  of  the  Society's  School-masters  be  paid  only 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  109 

by  Bill  of  Exchange,  to  be  by  them  drawn  upon  the  Treasurers  from 
Time  to  Time,  as  such  Salaries  shall  become  due.1 

Instructions  for  Schoolmasters  Employed  by  the  Society,  etc. 

I.  That  they  well  consider  the  End  for  which  they  are  employed 
by  the  Society,  viz.  The  instructing  and  disposing  Children  to  believe 
and  live  as  Christians. 

II.  In  order  to  this  End,  that  they  teach  them  to  read  truely  and 
distinctly,  that  they  may  be  capable  of  reading  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
and  other  pious  and  useful  Books,  for  informing  their  Understand- 
ings and  regulating  their  Manners. 

III.  That  they  instruct  them  thoroughly  in  the  Church-Catechism  ; 
teach  them  first  to  read  it  distinctly  and  exactly,  then  to  learn  it  per- 
fectly by  Heart ;  endeavoring  to  make  them  understand  the  Sense  and 
Meaning  of  it,  by  the  Help  of  such  Expositions,  as  the  Society  shall 
send  over. 

IV.  That  they  teach  them  to  Write  a  plain  and  legible  Hand,  in 
order  to  the  fitting  them  for  useful  Employments ;  with  as  much 
Arithmetick,  as  shall  be  necessary  to  the  same  Purpose. 

V.  That  they  be  industrious,  and  give  constant  Attendance  at 
proper  School-Hours. 

VI.  That  they  daily  use,  Morning  and  Evening,  the  Prayers  com- 
posed for  their  Use  in  this  Collection  with  their  Scholars  in  the 
School,  and  teach  them  the  Prayers  and  Graces  composed  for  their 
Use  at  Home. 

VII.  That  they  oblige  their  Scholars  to  be  constant  at  Church  on 
the  Lords-Day  Morning  and  Afternoon,  and  at' all  other  Times  of 
Pub-lick  Worship ;  that  they  cause  them  to  carry  their  Bibles  and 
Prayer  Books  with  them,  instructing  them  how  to  use  them  there, 
and  how  to  demean  themselves  in  the  several  Parts  of  Worship  ;  that 
they  be  there  present  with  them,  taking  Care  of  their  reverent  and 
decent  Behavior,  and  examine  them  afterwards,  as  to  what  they  have 
heard  and  learn'd. 

VIII.  That  when  any  of  their  Scholars  are  fit  for  it,  they  recom- 
mend them  to  the  Minister  of  the  Parish,  to  be  publickly  Catechized 
in  the  Church. 

IX.  That  they  take  especial  Care  of  their  Manners,  both  in  their 
Schools,  and  out  of  them ;  warning  them  seriously  of  those  Vices  to 
which  Children  are  most  liable ;  teaching  them  to  abhor  Lying  and 
Falsehood,  and  to  avoid  all  Sorts  of  Evil-speaking ;  to  love  truth  and 
Honesty ;  to  be  Modest,  Gentle,  Well-behav'd,  Just  and  Affable,  and 
Courteous  to  all,  their  Companions ;  respectful  to  their  Superiors, 
particularly  towards  all  that  minister  in  holy  Things,  and  especially 
to  the  Minister  of  their  Parish  ;  and  all  this  from  a  Sense  and  Fear 

1  Coll.  of  Papers  printed  by  order  of  the  Society,  etc.,  1741,  pp.  38-40. 

These  "Orders"  were  first  issued  as  early  as  1706,  but  they  did  not  comprise 
paragraphs  VI,  VII,  and  XI,  of  1741,  and  did  include  the  following,  as  %  VIII, 
which  was  omitted  in  1741 : 

"  VIII.  That  no  School-master  be  sent  in  the  Society's  Service  till  he  be  Episcopally 
Ordained  Deacon  ;  and  that  he  have  a  Salary  not  under  Thirty  Pounds  per  Annum. 

See  Coll.  of  Papers,  etc.,  1706  (in  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc.  library),  p.  69. 


110  Annals  of  Public  Education 

of  Almighty  God  ;  endeavoring  to  bring  them  in  their  tender  Years 
to  that  Sense  of  Religion,  which  may  render  it  the  constant  Principle 
of  their  Lives  and  Actions. 

X.  That  they  nse  all  kind  and  gentle  Methods  in  the  Government 
of  their  Scholars,  that  they  may  be  lov'd,  as  well  as  fear'd  by  them ; 
and  that  when  Correction  is  necessary,  they  make  the  Children  to 
understand,  that  it  is  given  them  out  of  kindness,  for  their  Good, 
bringing  them  to  a  Sense  of  their  Fault,  as  well  as  of  their  Punish- 
ment. 

XI.  That  they  frequently  consult  with  the  Minister  of  the  Parish, 
in  which  they  dwell,  about  the  Methods  of  managing  their  Schools, 
and  be  ready  to  be  advised  by  him. 

XII.  That  they  do,  in  their  whole  Conversation,  shew  themselves 
Examples  of  Piety  and  Virtue  to  their  Scholars,  and  to  all,  with 
whom  they  shall  converse. 

XIII.  That  they  be  ready,  as  they  have  Opportunity,  to  teach  and 
instruct  the  Indians  and  Negroes,  and  their  Children. 

XIY.  That  they  send  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Society,  once  in  every 
six  Months,  an  Account  of  the  State  of  their  respective  Schools,  the 
Number  of  their  Scholars,  with  the  Methods  and  Success  of  their 
Teaching. 

Notitia  Scholastica  ;  or  an  Account  to  "be  sent  every  Six  Months  to 
the  Society  by  each  Schoolmaster,  concerning  the  State  of  their 
respective  Schools, 

1.  Attendance  daily  given, 

2.  Number  of  Children  taught  in  the  School, 

3.  Number  of  Children  baptized  in  the  Church  of  England, 

4.  Number  of  Indian  and  Negroe  Children, 

5.  Number  of  Children  born  of  Dissenting  Parents, 

6.  Other  Schools  in  or  near  the  Place, 

7.  Of  what  Denomination, 

8.  Other  Employments  of  the  Schoolmaster, , 

The  Account  to  be  attested  by  the  Missionary  (if  any  upon  the 
Spot)  and  by  some  of  the  Principal  Inabitants.1 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  Schoolmasters  and  Catechists  employed 
by  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  in  the  Province  of 
New  York,  from  1704  to  1782,  with  their  respective  salaries,  and  the 
number  of  scholars  instructed,  as  compiled  from  the  annual  "  Abstracts 
of  Proceedings :" 

"Coll.  of  Papers  printed  by  order  of  the  Society,  etc.,  1706,  pp.  33-35,  and  1741, 
pp.  20-22. 


in  tee  State  of  New  York. 


111 


'B 

*-> 

t 
to 


I   ! 

CO  £- 


oo 

i-l  tH 
6fl 


OOOidOOO 


CO  CO 
5DC- 
J>tH 

COtH 
C3CO 

«OT-t 


iP  t-  no** 

t-  *>  i>  l> 

i-t  tH  J>  tH 


!1 

CO£~ 
*>-rH 


00*^0      ~       © 

•«*  i>  ia  co  co  10  op 

Ci  CI  4<  Ci  <M  4<  Ci 
CO«5l>OJ^WC* 

i>  t>  i>  fc-  i>  i>  p- 


©    • 

1  :' 

fi>~i 


>>       ;s^ 


03  r^J 

ft^ 

©£ 

H  © 

II 

Crfi 


©^£  2S^ 

^^£2  OQ  © 


^1 


Uj 


^Wfi 


££ 


£6 


* 


9  fi 

—  -_  .. 

03^3    >% 
A3 

■gas 

fi      .H 

3  S  £ 
8^0 

©^ 

1§gs 

3fl  fi 

en  id  "-1 
©rtf. 


-Ort 


« 

_  'o 
0  o 

~-gCQ 

bS  • 

fi  ft.d 
5  ®  a 

^  S  ft 
~-fi  p 

o  «ur« 

"    0)- 

©©tig 

^  >c 

•SB'? 
§  ©  o 

81I 

«-.  9  ■ 
§§* 

S  °°  fe 

"     fi 

c3  ©  c3 

-§«^ 

rfi    ©    C 

S**  ^ 
^  5  "& 

CO  ^   e3 

O  bB 

^  a  o 
o  ^  © 


©      o 

.2  %  & 

T3    g    ft 

2©« 

©   O    ^ 


IS* 

a  M  § 

o'S  * 

o3   _.     - 

5  g>  fi 


99  • 


T3  cc  g 

*   03^ 

•3  5  2 

•£,fi  bO 

ftcgB 


.£:  & 
S3 
ft© 

■p  ,D  CO 
0(3  t— 

SS    fir-. 

.2So 


a     ~ 
0Q  o 


o  © 

o  ,d  3  jr  «8  d  P 

03   3  Tt<  ©   fi  . 

©     fi^O     Qj'S^ 

lfi3M-|S^ 

2      (>  03 


112 


Annals  of  Public  Education 


tvg 

^1 


3* 


«8 


I -Is     2 

2«  wc 


O   co 


CO    et 


t=J 


OtS. 


M9 


1oW  & 
g^p  pi 


09 

i-H 

0*^ 


s1 


a 

«D 

I©      *' 


C3T*      | 

eo-*  us 


•§  ££©.* 

•OJ   COCOC-CO 


1-1 

©©  .H 

i>  i>  o  us  © 


1©        © 


§8al? 


«  >j     at) 


R  :2f 

wo    .oo»o 
^  o   •+»  o 


is  i 
H  ! 

COO        OS 


m 

g££ 

lOOM 


* 


o  o 


OP3 


1. 

co    '  <Q 


o  o  o 

>d.d.q 


in  tiie  State  of  New  York. 


113 


s 

s 

^ 

<v> 

1 

*Oi 

£ 

c> 

> 

As 

«© 

•^ 

■a 

$ 

a 

*^> 

P 

^ 

p 

•>=» 

*« 

* 

P 
o 

<s 

D 

^ 

| 

'S 

to 

Q 

^ 

§■ 

V 

*KS 

V 

| 

| 

^T 

Ss 

'O 

ft, 

g 

^ 

*< 

J  I 


~  1 

If 


5 

4 

« 


II 
sit 

III 

8*|sf 

c 


S  of© 

S  £  £ 
goo 


"   _    oOth 


.a  d  *o\-< 


S  ~      T3  rrj  CO 

oj.2   O 


T-l 


Fg 
Is 


6  2 

B    03 

P 


5 


i 
I 

t3 


CO  CO   o 

i>i>  bo 

h  th  a> 

ON 
CO  ^l 


ooo~ 

10010 


3  3 


o  o  ■*» 
-  ■"© 

CD  CO 

iocs 

CQ  O*  <M 


2 


t-i  tH  CO  CO  -^  GO 


Op         y-4  t-i  tH  tH  T-l 

l>        ©OCSWCOt-         CSCSCOO 


»o    !co    !t-h 
*>    .  t>    .  £"* 

t-l      .1-1      .  tH 

o    •  o    •  o 

COlO^«P< 


o  o  o 

'C'O'O 


©*  - 

O   d  h 

J>"  ►  > 

©  ©  © 


114 


Annals  of  Public  Education 


1 

•<s> 


«5 

8,15 

^  i 


»  i 
t.  s> 


^ 
tt 

Jo 

^> 

►j* 

4 

"8 

o 

£ 

I 

| 

1 

& 

•  ^ 

o 

to 

»*£ 

*q 

>o 

NBf 

•ha 

►«* 

-2 

3 

.  oc 

^ 

ii 

3 

^ 

^ 

I 


§^ 


jjj  »co 


cs^oo 


o         ^ 


OJt-H 


3 


3    § 


o  w> 
00 .9 


oooooooo      oooo 


CQ  CO      ' 
t-H  CO 

«**  ° 

os  is  i—i 

oo  ~*  -<*  SO~00  OS 


o    .^©^~ 
co  «o  »o  i>  i>  CS 


t>.        ©Ob 


o  o  o 

■^TqO        **  ^  **     .. 

3b  t>      co4<  ooio 

-*  O  O  £~ 


§1 

«  *J  0} 


»8S 


b 

>  <u  w 
COG  § 


s 


i 

o 

3 


QQ 


»-h"  CO 

O    3 

JO   CD  (M 

CO  +^th 

co   5j 

*£* 

03   **" 

d^o* 

<W  .Th 

Oi>0 

>>w 

«'  en  +j 

CU    5 

M    <    tfl 

85 

.Sl.9 

2.J2 

g-2 

&>a 

eChu 
was  a 
eChu 

*    c3 

r3   *J  ,^1 

H    Cm 

c?c 

£<? 

St.  o 

Dw 

St.  0 

P.      tH 

ffiiS 

£<2 

a      c 

c  to 

o    .  o 

in  the  State  of  New  York.  115 

As  an  appropriate  finale  to  this  list  of  early  teachers,  we  quote  two 
paragraphs  from  Rev.  Dr.  Berrian's  Historical  Sketch  of  Trinity 
Church,  published  in  1847 : 

There  is  nothing  with  which  I  have  been  so  much  struck  and 
impressed,  in  the  investigation  of  the  early  history  of  this  Parish,  as 
the  zeal,  the  earnestness,  and  devotedness  of  the  schoolmasters  and 
catechists  of  that  day.  The  former  appear  to  have  been  selected  from 
among  the  laity  with  great  caution  and  care,  and  to  have  been  per- 
sons of  respectability  and  worth.  The  latter  were  occasionally  lay- 
men, but  more  commonly  such  as  were  preparing  for  holy  orders,  or 
who  had  actually  received  them.  Some  of  these  were  men  of  liberal 
education,  who  in  the  commencement  of  their  professional  life  were 
full  of  promise,  and  who  ended  it  with  respect  and  honour.  But  they 
all  seem  to  have  entered  with  the  same  spirit  upon  their  humble 
labours,  and  to  have  prosecuted  them  with  a  patience,  an  interest, 
and  a  blessed  result,  which  put  ours  to  shame  at  the  present  day.! 
Intellectual  was  not  then,  to  the  extent  that  it  is  now,  separated  from 
religious  improvement,  but  both  went  hand  in  hand  throughout 
the  week.  The  whole  of  early  life  was,  in  a  certain  measure,  devoted 
to  Christian  instruction,  and  not  merely  reserved  for  the  scanty  inter- 
vals between  the  hours  of  worship  on  the  Lord's  Day. 

It  is  delightful  to  observe,  in  the  annual  reports  of  the  schoolmas- 
ters and  catechists  to  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel, 
with  what  cheerfulness  and  industry  they  appear  to  have  labored  in 
their  useful  but  lowly  employment;  with  what  particularity  each 
addition  to  the  number  of  scholars  or  catechumens,  from  year  to  year, 
is  pointed  out ;  with  what  pleasure  each  change  for  the  better,  in  the 
spiritual  condition  of  the  negro  or  Indian  slaves,  is  noticed;  with 
what  hopefulness  and  interest  they  look  forward  to  their  advance- 
ment in  Christian  knowledge,  and  how  sincerely  they  rejoice  at  their 
growth  in  Grace.1 

We  are  indebted  to  Rev.  Charles  W.  Baird,  of  Rye,  "Westchester 
Co.,  author  of  a  valuable  history  of  that  township,  for  the  fol- 
lowing summary  statement,  in  advance  of  the  publication  of  his  work, 
relative  to  the  early  schools  of  that  locality : 

Rye  belonged  to  Connecticut  until  1683.  Under  the  old  laws  of 
that  colony,  every  town  of  50  householders  was  required  "  to  appoint 
one  to  teach  children  to  read  and  write."  The  population  scarcely 
reached  the  figure  previous  to  the  year  mentioned.  Any  efforts 
therefore  in  favour  of  education  were  voluntary.  At  a  town  meeting, 
April  22,  1690,  a  committee  was  chosen  "  to  procure  a  minister,  and 
if  possible  a  schoolmaster."  Nothing  further  appears  on  the  subject 
till  Jan.  29,  1711,  when  the  Proprietors  voted  to  "  build  a  school 
house  upon  their  owne  charge."  It  was  agreed  that  "  any  person  or 
persons  that  will  bear  his  or  theire  proportion  of  moneys  in  building 
the  schoole  house,  shall  have  an  equall  privilege  of  the  said  house  for 

1  Berrian's  Historical  Sketch  of  Trinity  Church,  New  York,  pp.  86,  87. 

W   V"  OF  THE  *  r  ^ 


1J6  Annals  of  Public  Education 

schooling  with  the  Proprietors."  This  school  appears  to  have  been 
held  where  the  village  school  stood,  near  the  Episcopal  church,  until 
some  thirty  or  forty  years  ago. 

About  this  time  there  were  other  schools  in  different  parts  of 
the  town.  In  1716,  we  hear  of  "a  travelling  woman  who  came 
out  of  ye  Jerseys,  who  kept  school  at  several  places  in  Rye  parish." 
"As  to  schools,"  writes  the  Rev.  James  Wetmore  in  1728,  "  there 
are  several  poor  ones  in  different  parts  of  the  parish.  Where  a  number 
of  families  live  near  together,  they  hire  a  man  and  woman  at  a  cheap 
rate,  subscribing  every  one  what  they  will  allow.  Some  masters  get 
£20  per  annum  and  their  diet ;  but  there  is  no  public  provision  at  all 
for  a  school  in  this  parish." 

The  Society  in  England  "for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in 
Foreign  Parts,"  supported  a  schoolmaster  at  Rye,  from  1707,  till  the 
period  of  the  Revolution.  The  first  schoolmaster  was  Mr.  Joseph 
Cleator,  1707-1732.1  In  1714,  a  Mr.  Huddlestone  was  also  engaged, 
under  the  Society's  care,  in  teaching  in  some  parts  of  the  parish  of 
Rye,  which  included  the  towns  of  Bedford,  Mamaroneck  and  Rye — 
Rye  itself  at  that  time  comprehending  Harrison  and  the  White  Plains. 

"From  1734  to  1745,  Mr.  Flint  D wight  taught  a  school,  under  the 
same  auspices,  at  the  White  Plains.  At  Rye,  Mr.  Cleator  was  suc- 
ceeded in  1733  by  Mr.  Samuel  Purdy,  who  continued  till  1749,  when 
he  removed  to  the  White  Plains,  where  he  died  in  1753.  Timothy 
Wetmore  succeeded  him  at  Rye  till  1769,  when  his  brother  James 
took  the  school,  but  gave  it  up  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution. 

The  number  of  children  attending  the  Society's  school  at  different 
periods  is  stated  as  follows : 

In  1719,  Mr.  Cleator  taught  50  pupils.  In  1736,  Mr.  Dwight 
taught  46,  and  Mr.  Purdy  41.  In  1776,  Mr.  Wetmore's  school  num- 
bered 71. 

As  to  the  kind  of  instruction,  we  learn  from  John  Adams,  who 
visited  the  place  in  1774,  that  it  was  purely  elementary.  "  They 
have  a  school  for  writing  and  cyphering,  but  no  grammar  school." 

There  was  a  school-house  on  Rye  Neck,  or  Budd's  Neck,  as  it  was 
then  called,  as  early  as  1739 ;  and  one  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Saw- 
pit,  now  Port  Chester,  a  few  years  before  the  Revolution.  Little  is 
known  about  them. 

The  u  travelling  woman  who  came  out  of  ye  Jerseys  and  kept  school 
at  several  places  in  Rye  Parish,"  is  the  second  school  mistress  in  the 
Province  of  whom  we  have  any  record,  Rachel  Spencer  having  been 
the  first.2  At  a  much  later  period,  the  girls  in  Mr.  Hildreth's  school, 
at  N.  Y.  city,  "  in  the  afternoon  learned  to  write,  being  the  rest  of  the 
day  under  the  care  of  a  school  mistress  employed  by  the  Yestry,"  by 
whom  they  were  "  taught  needlework."  s 

1  It  will  be  observed  that  Mr.  Baird's  statistics  differ  in  a  few  cases  from  those  con- 
tained in  the  foregoing  tabular  list  of  schoolmasters  in  Westchester  Co.  The  local 
annalist  may  be  more  generally  correct,  though  some  of  the  Prop.  Soc.  Reports 
seem  not  to  have  been  consulted  by  him ;  white  others  have  not  been  accessible  to  us* 

2  Ante,  p.  69. 

3  Abs,  of  Proa,  etc.,  1762-3,  p.  77;  1764-5,  p.  73, 


in  the  State  of  New  Yore.  117 

In  connection  with  the  foregoing  sketch  of  schools  established  and 
sustained  in  the  interest  of  the  Church  of  England,  it  is  appro- 
priate to  insert  a  statement  kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  Henry  Onder- 
donk,  Jr.,  relative  to  both  the  English  and  the  Dutch  primers  for 
the  instruction  of  children  in  those  early  days : 

Religion  was  the  leading  idea  in  Dutch  (as  well  as  English)  teach- 
ing. I  have  a  Dutch  Primer,  or  A.  B.  C.  Book,  as  it  is  called, 
(Amsterdam),  similar  to  our  New  England  Primer.  It  has  a  large 
rooster  on  one  page,  and  a  picture  of  a  Dutch  school  on  the  other. 
The  master  has  a  cap  on  his  head  and  a  bunch  of  twigs  in  his  hand. 
The  class  stands  before  him  and  other  boys  are  seated  at  their  desks. 
After  a  very  little  spelling,  succeeds  the  Lord's  Prayer,  Creed,  Deca- 
logue, Morning  and  Evening  Prayer,  Grace  before  and  after  meat. 
The  instruction  is  altogether  religious,  which  feature  (I  suppose)  is 
retained  in  our  Catholic  schools  to  this  day. 

*  *  -x-  * 

The  Episcopalians  also  had  their  Primer  corresponding  to  the 
Dutch  and  New  England  Primers.  I  have  one  (once  the  property 
of  Rev.  Thos.  Poyer,  1709-30,  of  this  place)  [Jamaica,  L.  I.]  adapted 
for  children.  The  prayer,  etc.,  have  the  long  words  all  divided  into 
syllables,  thus :  Com-mand-ment. 

Replying  to  an  inquiry  relative  to  the  early  schools  of  Queens 
county,  Mr.  Onderdonk  says: 

Our  county  (Queens)  was  settled  from  Kings,  from  1670,  or  there- 
abouts, to  1720.  So  there  could  not  have  been  any  Dutch  schools  at 
the  early  date  you  require,  except  in  some  Dutch  neighborhoods. 
Under  the  English  Government,  private  or  subscription  schools  were  to 
be  found  all  over  the  country.  In  some  neighborhoods  Dutch  wastaught. 

In  the  same  communication,  Mr.  Onderdonk  incidentally  refers  to 
an  early  schoolmaster  at  Flat  Lands,  Kings  county,  of  whom  we  have 
seen  no  other  notice.     He  says : 

I  have  an  old  school  bill  in  Dutch,  1708,  written  by  Isaac  Selover 
in  a  beautiful  hand.    He  was  teacher  at  Flatlands  in  1695  and  onward. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  school  bill  referred  to,  and  a  transla- 
tion of  the  same  (with  an  added  remark  in  brackets),  by  Mr.  Onderdonk : 

1708.  Jacobus  Montfort  hebben  ter  school  geweest  vanden  4'Meij 
den  4' Julij  is  2  maanden  |  nu'  vanden  2  Sepr  tot  den  2  Octobg  is 
een  maant  —  samen  3  manden 

Comt  Z   10  gl 
I.  Seloover 

Schoolmr 

(Translation). 
1708.    Jacobus  Montfort  hath  been  to  school  from  May  4th  to  July 
4th,  which  is  2  months   [staid  home  probably  to  help  his  father  in 


118  Annals  of  Public  Education 

harvest  time,  July  and  August]    now,  from  the  2d  Sept.  to  the  2d 
Octobr  is  one  month,  altogether  3  months 

Comes  to  10  guilders. 

I.  SELOVEE, 

Schoolm'. 
Mr.  Onderdonk  further  states : 

Georgius  Sheriosby1  ( ? )  writes  his  name,  1721,  in  an  old  volume 
of  Sermons  as  "  Schoolmaster  on  Cow  Neck."  Should  perhaps  be 
"  Thoresby"  as  that  is  a  true  English  name. 

James  Loquart  kept  school  at  Jamaica,  in  1722 ;  Thomas  Temple,2 
and  William  Rock,  in  1731 ;  Thomas  Lynstead,  at  Oyster  Bay,  and 
elsewhere,  in  1723. 

Of  the  schools  founded  and  for  a  time  sustained  by  the  "  Venerable 
Society,"  one  at  least  has  been  continued  without  interruption  until 
the  present  time,  viz. :  the  so-called  "  Trinity  School,"  of  New  York 
city.  We  cannot  better  exhibit  its  early  history  and  condition  than 
by  quoting  from  Eev.  Dr.  McYickar's  Discourse,  delivered  Dec.  20, 
1859,  at  the  celebration  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Fiftieth  Anniver- 
sary of  the  School ;  premising,  however,  that  in  the  light  of  the  fore- 
going Annals,  Trinity  School  is  hardly  entitled  to  be  called  "the 
earliest  of  its  [N.  Y.  city's]  schools  in  the  English  tongue;"  the 
Grammar  Free  School,  for  example,  having  already  closed  its  career  3 
at  the  time  when  Trinity  School  claims  to  have  been  founded : 

The  antiquity  of  Trinity  School  (if  such  a  term  may  be  used  in  our 
land  of  yesterday)  deepens  further  the  interest  with  which  this,  city 
at  least  should  regard  it ;  for  it  was  the  earliest  of  its  schools  in  the 
English  tongue,  as  well  as  the  earliest  that  taught  its  children  the 
doctrines  and  worship  of  the  Church,  in  one  of  whose  Sanctuaries. wfe 
are  now  assembled ;  a  school  that  goes  back  to  within  one  hundred 
years  of  the  first  discovery  of  our  noble  river,  to  within  thirty  years 
of  the  origin  of  the  city's  name,  a  name  then  the  badge  of  recent 
conquest,  now  of  world-wide  fame,  New  York.  It  goes  back  to  the 
very  infancy  of  our  great  metropolis,  when  its  streets  could  be  counted 
on  the  fingers  of  a  single  hand ;  when  its  bounds  had  scarce  trans- 
cended the  favorite  swamp  of  its  original  Dutch  settlers ;  when  its 
population  was  but  that  of  a  village,  less  than  five  thousand;  its  com- 
merce that  of  a  country  store-keeper,  exporting  raw  produce  to  the 
amount  of  eight  thousand  pounds  (sterling).  It  is  a  school  whose 
antiquity  goes  beyond  the  age  of  every  educational  institution 
throughout  our  wide-spread  land,  with  the  exception  of  three  among 
its  thousand,  viz. :  Harvard  College,  founded  A.  D.  1636,  William 
and  Mary  College,  in  1691,  and  Yale  College,  in  the  year  1700.  Let 
us  then  pay  to  Trinity  School  the  reverence  at  least  due  to  age. 

1  There  is  a  provoking  uncertainty  about  the  letters.  I  write  it  as  was  copied  by  a 
friend  ;  but  I  add  a  fac-simile.  The  original  is  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Clarkson, 
Clermont,  N.  Y. 

2  Mr.  Temple  subsequently  taught  at  Hempstead.     See  ante,  p.  111. 
8  Ante,  pp.  76-89. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  119 

Its  beginnings,  however,  were  as  humble  as  the  intellectual  needs 
it  came  to  satisfy.  To  teach  the  poor  without  charge;  to  instruct 
Dutch  children  in  the  English  tongue,  and  to  train  up  all  in  the  nur- 
ture and  admonition  of  the  Lord,  with  its  secular  teaching,  carried  on 
in  some  rented  room  for  the  reception  of  its  obligated  forty  scholars, 
and  its  religious  instruction,  including  Church  Psalmody,  given  in 
the  porch  ol  Trinity  Church,  then  but  recently  erected ;  or  rather,  as 
the  original  report  has  it,  "  in  the  steeple "  of  the  church  (a  term, 
however,  not  to  be  literally  interpreted,  inasmuch  as  its  catechumens 
often  amounted  to  the  number  of  two  hundred);  these  were  the 
simple  and  lowly,  yet  blessed  labors  of  the  early  teachers  and  cate- 
chists  of  Trinity  School ;  carried  on  under  the  sanction  and  general 
guidance  of  the  Venerable  Society  in  England  for  "  Promoting  the 
Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,"  by  whom  its  teachers  and  catechists  were 
appointed  upon  recommendation  from  the  Vestry,  with  the  primitive 
salary  of  from  ten  to  fifteen  pounds  (sterling) ;  and  under  the  obliga- 
tion of  instructing  for  the  same  at  least  forty  scholars,  the  Society 
supplying  them  also  by  occasional  gifts  with  Bibles  and  Prayer-books 
for  the  school  and  for  distribution.  All  else  for  the  needs  of  the 
School,  as  well  as  for  the  support  of  its  teachers,  rested  upon  Trinity 
Church,  by  whose  care  these  primitive  salaries  were  from  the  first  at 
least  doubled,  though  attaching  to  their  appointment  incidental 
duties;  while  to  both  teacher#and  catechist  position  in  society  was 
further  given  by  annually  electing  them  members  of  the  vestry,  its 
first  incumbents  having  held  such  position,  one  for  nine,  the  other 
for  fourteen  years,  until  the  period  of  their  death ;  all  which  details, 
touching  Trinity  Church,  are  here  given,  not  as  diminishing  in  aught 
the  liberality  or  zeal  of  the  Venerable  Society  to  whose  bounty  and 
care,  not  the  School  only,  but  the  whole  Church,  was  so  deeply 
indebted ;  but  in  justice  to  a  Corporation  which  thus  early  began  the 
patronage  of  education  in  our  Church  and  City,  and  which  it  this  day 
becomes  the  earliest  recipient  of  its  bounty  thankfully  to  records 
How  small,  too,  at  this  time  were  its  own  means  of  support,  may  be 
judged  from  the  rental  of  its  recent  endowment,  then,  as  now,  its 
only  property,  the  King's  Farm,  amounting  to  but  £35  New  York 
currency.  ...  Of  the  long  list  of  teachers  and  catechists  thus 
appointed  from  the  year  1709,  to  the  period  of  separation  of  the 
colonies  from  the  mother  country,  I  name  but  the  first  of  each,  viz. : 
William  Huddlestone,  "  teacher,"  of  whom  little  is  recorded  beyond 
his  laboring  " faithfully  and  successfully"  in  his  fourteen  years 
incumbency,  and  as  being  followed  in  it  by  his  son.  Of  the  first 
"  catechist,"  however,  Elias  Nan  [Keau]  by  name,  more  may  be  said ; 
.  .  as  bringing  home  the  Church  and  its  services  to  the  love  and 
affection  of  all  classes,  to  the  children,  to  the  common  people,  to  the 
negro  slaves,  and  even  to  the  native  Indians,  who  still  swarmed  in 
the  town.  The  memory  of  these  early  teachers  is  indeed  past;  but 
their  example  remains,  bringing  a  blessing,  we  may  trust,  on  the 
School's  present  labors.      *       * 

In  1748,  Trinity  Church  erected  a  building  for  the  School's  accom- 
modation on  ground  contiguous  to  the  church.  This  being  destroyed 
by  fire  at  the  very  moment  of  its  completion,      ...      a  second 


120  Annals  of  Public  Education 

structure  was  with  difficulty,  through  want  of  means,  erected,  and 
that  only  by  aid  of  liberal  gifts  brought  forth  by  its  misfortune. 
.  •  Up  to  the  year  1776,  the  School  continued  under  the  joint 
patronage  and  care  of  the  Venerable  Society  and  Trinity  Church,  its 
support  resting  mainly  upon  the  latter.  Upon  the  breaking  out 
of  that  contest  #mong  brethren,  its  doors  were  for  a  time  closed,  its 
teachers  scattered ;  and,  in  the  subsequent  great  fire  that  desolated 
our  city,  the  school-house  shared  the  fate  of  its  only  patron,  and  was 
laid  in  ashes.  But  with  the  close  of  that  contest  came  a  new  era  in 
its  history ;  Trinity  School  becoming  legally  and  by  name,  what  in 
truth  and  practice  it  had  long  been,  the  School  of  Trinity  Church, 
and  a  commodious  building  erected  for  its  accommodation.1 

The  following  paragraph,  containing  an  allusion  to  Samson  Occom, 
noted  as  a  preacher,  and  as  the  author  of  the  hymn,  "  Awaked  by 
Sinai's  awful  sound,"  etc.,  is  appropriate  in  this  connection : 

In  1741,  the  Society  for  Propagating  the  Christian  Eeligion  among 
the  Indians  of  New  England  [Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gos- 
pel in  Foreign  Parts],  .  .  .  appointed  the  Rev'd  Azariah  Horton 
a  missionary  among  the  Montauketts.  .  .  .  Subsequently,  there 
were  a  number  of  Indian  preachers  and  teachers  among  them  ;  but  the 
most  distinguished  was  Sampson  Ocum  [Samson  Occom],  a  Mohegan, 
who  was  born  in  1723,  and  educated  *in  Connecticut  by  Mr.  Whee- 
lock  and  Mr.  Pomeroy.  He  opened  a  school  on  Montauk  in  1755, 
and  also  preached  there  from  that  date  until  1761.2      *      * 

The  importance  and  6teady  continuance  of  the  educational  work 
carried  on  by  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  have 
induced  us  to  present  the  whole  of  this  subject  consecutively,  and  to 
defer  for  the  time  being  our  notice  of  contemporary  teachers  and 
schools.  We  now  recur  to  the  date  at  which  the  special  narrative 
just  referred  to  commenced,  to  gather  up  what  still  remains  of  edu- 
cational interest  for  so  much  of  the  same  period  as  precedes  the  year 
1746,  the  general  limit,  as  to  time,  of  the  present  chapter. 

A  colony  of  Palatines  having  settled,  in  1710,  upon  a  portion  of  the 
Livingston  Manor,  a  school-house  was  erected  soon  after,  as  appears 
by  the  following  record : 

I  acknowledge  to  hav.  Received  of  Robert  Livingston  40  Boards 
for  ye  School  house  in  ye  paletyeyn  town  called  Queensberry 8  &  desire 
sd  Livingston  to  send  for  ye  sd  use  30  Boards  now  to  Compleat  ye 
School  house. 

dated  this  18  Jany  1711 

Joh.  Fr.  ILeyer,  Min.4 

1  One  Hundred  and  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  Trinity  School,  pp.  14-17. 

2  Gardiner's  Chronicles  of  Easthampton,  pp.  70,  71. 

3  One  of  the  four  Palatine  villages  established  about  the  year  1710,  and  collectively 
known  as  the  "East  Camp."  These  villages  were  within  the  limits  of  the  present 
town  of  Germantown,  Columbia  county. 

4  Doc.  Hist,  of  N.  Y.,  iii,  668  (8°  ed. ) ;  400  ( 4°  ed.). 


In  the  State  of  New  York.  ]21 

The  existence  of  the  first  English  school  west  of  Albany,  of  which 
we  have  seen  any  mention,  has  been  recently  declared,  as  follows : 

*  *  Schenectady  had  its  first  school  in  the  English  tongue  in 
1710.1         *         *         * 

No  reference  to  original  records  is  given  in  support  of  this  state- 
ment, and  nothing  further  has  come  under  our  notice  to  substantiate  it. 

The  following  petition  preserves  the  name  of  a  schoolmaster,  who 
might  otherwise,  perhaps,  be  unknown  at  this  time  : 

To  His  Excellency  Robert  Hunter  Esqr  Capt.  Generall  and  Govern- 
our  in  Cheife  of  ye  Province  of  New  York  New  Jersey  and  Terri- 
tories thereon  depending  in  America  and  Yice  Admirall  of  ye 
same  &c. 

The  humble  Petition  of  Anthony  Gleane  [Glead2]  of  finishing  in 
Queens  County  Blacksmith  Dec'd  (sic) 

Sheweth 

That  one  James  Battersby,  late  of  ffiushing  aforesaid  Schoolmaster 
Deced  lately  Dyed  Intestate  there  being  in  his  life  time  and  ye  time 
of  his  Decease  Considerably  Indebted  to  yor  Petitioner  for  Lodging 
and  otherwise  and  having  noe  relation  in  these  parts  Your  petitioner 
was  at  ye  expence  of  his  fiunerall  and  ye  said  Deceased  have  some 
small  estate  in  Goods  &  Chattells  within  this  Province  tho'  hardly 
soe  much  as  yor  Petitioner  beleives  to  Reimburse  what  is  due  to  yor 
Petitioner  from  ye  said  Intestate. 

Your  Petitioner  therefore  most  humbly  prays  yor  Excellency  will 
be  pleased  to  Grant  him  Letters  of  Administration  of  ye  Estate  of  ye 
said  Dece'd  within  this  province  as  principle  Creditor  of  ye  said 
Intestate. 

And  yor  Petitioner  shall  ever  pray  &c 

ANTHONY  GLEANE 

New  York  12th  August  1715. 

I  direct  Letters  of  Administration  to  be  granted  of  ye  said  Intes- 
tate's Estates  to  ye  petitioner  according  to  ye  prayer  of  ye  said 
Petition 

RO.  HUNTER3 

It  appears  from  the  annexed  quotation,  that  a  Latin  school  was 
once  established  in  the  city  of  New  York,  under  the  care  of  Mr. 
David  Jamison,  who  was  also  subsequently  Clerk  of  the  Council, 
Secretary  and  Attorney-General  of  the  Province,  Chief  Justice  of 
New  Jersey,  etc. : 

1  Sup't  Rice's  Special  Report  on  the  Condition  of  Education,  1867,  p.  78. 

a  H.  Onderdonk,  Jr. 

'  N.  Y.  Col.  MSS.,  lx,  36. 


122  Annals  of  Public  Education 

Governor  Hunter  to  the  Lords  of  Trade. 

New  York  Octr  2d  1716. 
*  *  ■*  * 

Mr.  David  Jamison  is  the  same  person  mentioned  in  the  extracts 
of  the  Earl  of  Bellomonts  letter  to  your  Board,  tho'  much  different  in 
his  character  and  conduct  from  what  he  is  represented  there  to  be. 
.  The  real  truth  is  this  Mr  Jamison  after  a  liberal  education 
at  schools  and  Colleges  in  Scotland  from  some  discontent  the  preju- 
dice of  education  or  the  folly  and  heat  of  youth,  or  all  of  them 
together,  took  occasion  to  join  himself  to  that  multitude  which  in  the 
end  of  King  Charles  ye  seconds  reign,  were  called  by  the  name  of 
sweet  singers.  .  .  .  He  was  in  company  with  others  of  that 
sort  when  taken  prisoner  by  a  party  of  the  Kings  forces. 
One  Lockhart  who  had  a  ship  boun[d]  for  America  was  ordered  by 
the  Govern*  to  go  to  the  house  where  they  were  kept,  and  know  of 
them  whether  they  would  voluntarily  go  on  board  with  him  for 
America.  .  .  .  being  arrived  here  the  minister  of  the  Fort  Mr 
Clarke  paid  Mr  Jamisons  passage,  and  the  chief  men  in  the  place 
reimbursed  Mr  Clarke  and  set  him  to  teach  a  lattin  school,  which  he 
attended  for  some  time  with  great  industry  and  success,  but  finding 
that  incouragement  but  small,  he  entred  himself  into  the  Secretary's 

office.1 

*  •*  •*  * 

We  have  failed,  after  considerable  search,  to  find  any  other  allusion 
to  this  Latin  School,  and  can  only  infer  from  the  last  sentence  of  the 
above  extract,  in  connection  with  the  fact  that  Mr.  Jamison  was 
Clerk  of  the  Council  as  early  as  1693,2  that  it  was  established  as  early 
as  about  the  year  1690. 

The  following  fragments,  gleaned  from  the  town  records  of  Hemp- 
stead, L.  I.,  may  be  regarded  as  one  brief  chapter  in  the  school  his- 
tory of  that  locality,  which  seems  entitled  to  the  credit  of  having  the 
third  school,  in  the  order  of  time,  on  Long  Island.  The  first  para- 
graph properly  belongs  to  the  Dutch  period,  and  might  have  been 
inserted  on  page  36,  ante  : 

Education  was  not  neglected  by  the  settlers  [of  Hempstead]  ;  for 
we  find  that  the  town  (in  1658)  devoted  the  fines  from  unlicensed 
dram-sellers  to  the  schooling  of  poor  orphans. 

Richard  Gildersleeve,  who  gave  place  to  Richard  Charlton  in  1670, 
succeeded  Jonas  Houldsworth,  who  taught  in  1662. 

In  1702,  the  town  voted  100  acres  of  land  for  a  free  school ;  also 
timber  for  building,  fencing  and  firewood. 

In  1707,  four  acres  of  land,  west  of  the  meeting  house  pond,  were 
granted  to  u  settle  a  school  master  upon  for  to  teach  our  children — 
the  land  to  be  for  the  use  and  privilege  of  a  school  forever."3 

1  N.  Y.  Col. Doc,  v,  478. 

2  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc.,iii,  227. 

8  Onderdonk's  Hist.  Sketch  of  Ancient  Agriculture,  etc.,  in  Hempstead  (included  in 
26th  Ann.  Rep.  of  Queens  Co.  Agri.  Soc),  p.  63. 


In  the  State  of  New  York.  123 

1722,  April  3. — By  major  vote  a  3  acre  lot  that  was  granted  for  a 
school  is  now  given  to  justice  Tredwell.  Thos.  Gildersleeve,  School- 
master, protests  against  this  vote. 

1732,  April  4. — To  Benj.  Valentine  is  given  all  the  timber  left 
about  the  school  house.  The  bricks  left  are  to  be  allowed  for  the 
Parsonage  chimneys  and  house.  The  town  schoolhouse  lot  is  let  to 
Col.  Jno.  Treadwell  for  27s  the  present  year. 

1737,  April  5. — By  major  vote  Rev.  Robt.  Jenny  has  the  privilege 
of  enclosing  and  using  the  schoolhouse  lot  till  the  Town  shall  have 
occasion  of  it  for  a  school  or  schoolmaster.1 

The  annexed  advertisements,  copied  from  early  volumes  of  the  New 
York  Gazette,  the  first  newspaper  published  in  the  Colony  of  New 
York,  are  probably  the  earliest  specimens  of  this  method  of  recruiting 
scholars  (now  so  extensively  relied  upon),  employed  within  the  limits 
of  this  State : 

On  the  15th  of  September  next,  at  the  Custom  House  in  this 
City  (where  a  convenient  Room  is  fitted  up)  James  Lyde  designs 
to  Teach  in  the  Evenings  (during  the  Winter)  Arithmetick,  in 
all  its  parts,  Geometry,  Trigonometry,  Navigation,  Surveying, 
Guaging,  Algebra,  and  sundry  other  parts  of  Mathematical  Learning, 
Whoever  inclines  to  be  instructed  in  any  of  the  said  Parts  of  Mathe- 
matical Knowledge,  may  agree  with  the  said  James  Lyde  at  the 
House  of  William  Bradford  in  the  City  of  New  York.  [New  York 
Gazette,  Numb.  2542,  Aug.  31  to  Sept.'  7,  1730.]  * 

At  the  house  of  George  Brown  ell,  near  the  Custom-House,  are 
taught  heading,  Writing,  Cyphering,  Merchants  Accounts,  Latin, 
Greek,  dec,  also  Dancing,  Plain-work,  Flourishing,  Imbroidery, 
and  various  Sorts  of  Works.  A?) y  persons  may  be  taught  as  private 
as  they  please.  [New  York  Gazette,  Numb.  2954,  June  14,  to  June 
21,  1731.] 

EDward  Gatehouse,  Writing  Master,  hereby  gives  Notice,  That 
many  or  the  greater  part  of  his  scholars  being  sick  of  the  Small  Pox, 
he  takes  this  Opportunity,  on  an  Extraordinary  Occasion  to  go  into 
the  Country,  and  in  ten  days  intends  to  be  back  to  attend  his  School. 
[New  York  Gazette,  Numb.  3112,  Oct.  4  to  Oct.  U,  1731.] 

Grammar,  Writing,  Arithmetic  Vulgar  &  Decimal,  Taught  by 
William  Thurston,  School-Master  in  New  York,  dwelling  at  the  Cor- 
ner-House by  Koenties  Market,  over  against  the  Skotch  Arms.  [New- 
York  Gazette,  Numb.  3584,  Aug.  28  to  Sept.  4,  1732.] 

This  is  to  give  Notice,  That  over  against  the  Sign  of  the  black 
Horse  in  Smith-Street,  near  the  old  Dutch  Church,  is  carefully  taught 
the  French  and  Spanish  Languages,  after  the  best  Method  that  is 
now  practized  in  Great  Britain,  which  for  the  encouragement  of 
those  who  intend  to  learn  the  same,  is  taught  for  20s.  per  Quarter. 

Note,  that  the  said  Person  teaches  Reading,  Writing  and  Arith- 

1  Hempstead  Records,  as  furnished  by  H.  Onderdonk,  Jr. 

a  The  superior  figure  affixed  to  the  number  of  the  newspaper,  indicates  the  page  on 
which  the  school  notice  occurs. 


124  Annals  of  Public  Education 

metwk,  at  very  reasonable  Terms,  which  is  per  Quarter  for  Readers, 
5s.  for  Writers  8s.  for  Cypherers  12.  [New  York  Gazette,  Numb. 
511,4  Aug.  4  to  Aug.  11,  1735.] 

Notice,  That  the  Subscriber,  late  from  Old  England,  intends  (as 
soon  as  the  Weather  is  warmer  and  proper  Encouragement  be  given) 

To  teach  Writing  in  all  its  Hands,  Arithmetick  and  Latin,  (as 
also  to  teach  the  Grammar  /Schollars  twice  a  Day  Writing,  gratis.) 

Whoever  is  willing  to  encourage  him  in  so  commendable  a  Work, 
and  so  requisite  in  this  flourishing  City,  may,  at  Mr.  Wood  Fur- 
man's  in  Wall-street,  agree  with  on  that  subject, 

CHABLES  JOHNSTON. 

[New-York  Weekly  Post-Boy,  Numb.  594,  March  5,  1743-4 
(Parker).'] 

Similar  advertisements  of  later  dates  are  reserved  for  a  subsequent 
chapter. 

The  establishment,  in  1732,  of  "  a  public  school  to  teach  Latin, 
Greek  and  Mathematics,  in  the  City  of  New  York,"  under  authority 
of  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Province,  may  be  regarded 
as  an  event  of  considerable  interest  in  the  history  of  public  education 
in  this  Colony ;  though,  like  the  Grammar  Free  School  of  1702-9,  it 
seems  to  have  nourished  during  a  period  of  only  about  seven  years. 
Both  the  schools  referred  to  may  have  been  vitally,  if  not  formally, 
connected  with  the  repeated  proposals  and  attempts,  beginning  as 
early  as  1703,  to  found  a  college  in  this  Province ;  though  of.  this 
there  seems  to  be  no  official  evidence.  Having  consulted  several  his- 
torical sketches  of  Columbia  (formerly  King's)  College,  for  founding 
which  legislative  provision  began  to  be  made  in  1746,  we  find  no 
statement  or  suggestion  that  this  earliest  New  York  college  had  for 
its  germ  any  pre-existing  school  whatever.  Still,  we  can  hardly 
doubt  that  there  was  some  vital  relation  between  the  various  move- 
ments, however  spasmodic  and  disconnected,  which  gave  corporate 
existence,  first  to  two  temporary  institutions  of  the  academic  grade > 
and  finally  to  a  permanent  college. 

Since  writing  the  foregoing  paragraph,  we  are  gratified  to  find  our 
inference  on  this  point  confirmed  by  the  late  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  But- 
ler, who,  in  an  anniversary  address  delivered  before  the  Albany  Insti- 
tute, in  1830,  refers  to  Mr.  Malcolm's  school,  and  remarks  that  it  "  is 
said  to  have  formed  the  germ  of  Columbia  College."  1  He  cites,  as 
authority  for  this  statement,  Smith's  History  of  New  York,  which 
speaks  of  the  movement  for  founding  a  College  as  "  a  project  early  in 
the  eye  of  the  patrons  of  the  public  school,  formerly  trusted  to  the 

1  Albany  Institute  Transactions,  i,  179. 


w  the  State  of  New  York.  125 

care  of  Mr.  Malcolm,  favore'd  by  the  pupils  of  that  institution  now 
rising  to  manhood,  and  forced  by  a  general  spirit  of  emulation  on 
discovering  the  sundry  advantages  our  youth  had  acquired  by  an 
academical  education  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  but  chiefly  at  the 
neighboring  Colleges  of  New  England." 1 

The  official  history  of  the  passage  of  the  above  mentioned  act  of 
1732,  is  an  appropriate  preface  to  the  act  itself: 

[In  General  Assembly.'] 

Die  Martis  9  ho.  A.  M.  Oct.  3,  1732. 

The  Petition  of  sundry  Gentlemen,  and  others,  whose  Names  are 
thereunto  subscribed,  was  presented  to  the  House,  and  read,  praying 
the  Permission  of  this  House,  for  bringing  in  a  Bill  to  establish  a 
perpetual  Support  for  a  Master,  to  teach  Latin  and  Greek. 

Ordered,  That  Leave  be  given  to  bring  in  a  Bill  for  encouraging  a 
public  School,  to  teach  Latin,  Greek,  Arithmetick,  and  the  Mathe- 
maticks,  in  the  City  of  New- York  ;  and  that  for  the  Encouragement 
of  a  School  Master  for  that'  Purpose,  the  unappropriated  Money,  to 
rise  by  the  Act  for  licensing  Hawkers  and  Pedlars,  until  the  first  Day 
of  December,  1737,  be  applied  for  that  End ;  and  that  the  said  City 
make  up  the  Income  of  that  Fund  annually,  during  that  Time,  to 
the  Sum  of  Pounds  ;    and  that  in  Consideration  thereof, 

the  said  School  Master  shall  be  obliged  to  teach  gratis,  the  Number 

of  Children. 

*  *  *  * 

Die  Jovis,  9  ho.  A.  M.  Oct.  5,  1732. 

#»■■■*.* 

Mr.  DeLancey  (according  to  Leave)  presented  to  the  House,  a  Bill, 
entitled,  An  Act,  to  encourage  a  publick  School',  in  the  City  qfNew- 
York,  for  teaching  Latin,   Greek  and  Mathematicks ;  which  was 

read  the  first  Time,  and  ordered  to  be  read  a  second  Time. 

*  #  *  * 

Die  Martis,  9  ho.  A.  M.  Oct.  10,  1732. 

4*  •*  *  # 

The  Bill,  entitled,  An  Act,  to  encourage  a  public  School  [etc.,  as 
above]  ;  was  read  the  second  Time,  and  committed  to  a  Committee 

of  the  whole  House. 

*  *  *  * 

Die  Jovis,  9  ho.  A  M.  Oct.  12,  1732. 

Mr.  Garritsen  reported  from  the  Committee  of  the  whole  House, 
to  whom  was  refered,  the  Bill,  entitled,  [as  above]  ;  That  they  had 
gone  through  the  Bill,  and  made  several  Amendments,  and  added 
several  Clauses  thereto,  which  they  had  directed  him  to  report  to  the 
House ;  which  were  read,  and  agreed  unto  by  the  House. 

Ordered,  That   the  Bill  with  the  Amendments  and  Clauses  be 

ingrossed. 

*  *  *  * 

1  Smith's  Hist,  of  N.  Y.  (Hist.  Soc.  ed.  1829),  ii,  93. 


126  Annals  of  Public  Education 

Die  Jovis,  3  ho.  P.  M.  Oct.  12,  1732. 

The  engrossed  Bill,  entitled,  [as  above]  ;  was  read  the  third  Time. 

JEtesoboed,  That  the  Bill  do  pass. 

Ordered,  That  Major  Rensselaer  do  carry  the  Bill  to  the  Council, 

and  desire  their  Concurrence  thereto. 

*  *  *  * 

At  a  Councitt  held  at  ffort  George  in  New  York,  the  13^  day  of 

October,  1732. 

A  Message  from  the  Assembly  by  Major  Yan  Rensselaer  with  the 
Bill  Entitled,  An  Act  to  encourage  a  publick  School  in  the  City  of 
New  York  for  teaching  Latin,  Greek  and  Mathematics  and  desiring 
the  Concurrence  of  this  Board  thereto. 

Ordered,  that  the  said  Bill  be  read 

Then  the  said  Bill  was  read  the  1st  time  & 

Ordered  a  second  reading. 

Post  Meridiem. 

The  Bill  entitled,  An  Act   [etc.,   as  above]   was  read  a   second 

time  and  committed  to  the  Gentlemen  of  the  Councill  or  any  five  of 

them 

October  Uth,  1732. 
*  *  *  * 

Mr  Harrison  Chairman  of  the  Committee  (to  whom  the  Bill 
Entitled,  An  Act  [etc.,  as  above]  was  committed)  reported  from  the 
said  Cpmmittee  that  they  were  ready  to  make  their  report  thereof 
when  this  Board  wo'd  please  to  receive  the  Same. 

Ordered,  that  the  said  report  be  made  immediately 

Then  Mr  Harrison  in  his  place  reported  from  the  Said  Committee 
that  they  had  gone  through  the  said  Bill  without  any  amendments 

Which  report  was  agreed  to  &  approved  of  by  the  Board 

Ordered,  that  the  said  Bill  be  read  the  third  time 

Then  the  said  Bill  was  read  the  third  time  and  past  without  any 
amendments 

Ordered,  that  Mr  Harrison  do  acquaint  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives therewith 


[In  General  Assembly.'] 

Die  Sabatii,  9  ho.  A.  M.  Oct.  14,  1732. 
A  Message  from  the  Council,  by  Mr.  Harrison,  that  they  had 
agreed  to  the  Bill,  entitled,  [as  above]  ;  without  any  Amendments. 

[On  the  same  day,  His  Excellency,  Governor  Cosby,  gave  his 
assent  to  this  and  other  Bills.] 

The  annexed  copy  of  the  aforesaid  act,  is  a  transcript  from  the 
original  manuscript  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  as  we  have 
been  unable  to  find  it  in  print : 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  127 

An  Act  to  encourage  a  Public  School  in  the  City  of  New  York  for 
teaching  Latin,  Greek  and  Mathematicks. 

Whereas,  good  Learning  is  not  only  a  very  great  Accomplishment 
but  the  properest  Means  to  attain  knowledge,  Improve  the  Mind, 
Morality  and  good  Manners,  and  to  make  Men  better,  wiser  and 
more  useful  to  their  Country  as  well  as  to  themselves. 

And  Whereas,  the  City  and  Colony  of  New  York,  abounds  with 
Youths  of  a  Genius  not  Inferior  to  other  Countries,  it  must  undoubt- 
edly be  a  Loss  to  the  Public  and  a  Misfortune  to  such  Youths  if  they 
are  destitute  of  the  Opportunity  to  improve  their  Capacities  by  a 
Liberal  Education.1 

And  Whereas,  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  and  a  great  Number  of 
the  principal  Inhabitants  of  the  said  City  of  New  York  have  by 
their  petition  to  the  General  Assembly  set  forth  that  One  Mr.  Alex- 
ander Malcolm  has  by  keeping  of  a  private  School  within  the  said 
City  given  a  satisfactory  proof  of  his  Abilities  to  teach  Latin  Greek 
and  the  Mathematics ;  But  as  the  Income  of  that  School  does  at  pre- 
sent fall  short  of  a  comfortable  Support  for  himself  and  his  Family 
They  humbly  pray  he  may  have  a  suitable  Encouragement  to  keep  a 
public  School  amongst  us  under  such  Regulations  and  Restrictions  as 
may  answer  that  End. 

And  althd  the  not  rightly  applying  of  a  temporary  Salary  hereto- 
fore allowed  for  a  Free  School,  has  been  the  chief  Cause  that  an 
Encouragement  for  the  like  Purpose  has  ever  since  been  neglected; 
But  in  as  much  as  the  present  Circumstances  afford  a  better  Prospect, 
and  to  the  End  our  Youth  may  not  be  deprived  of  the  Benefits 
before  mentioned,  Be  it  Enacted  by  hjs  Excellency  the  Governour  the 
Council  and  the  General  Assembly,  And  it  is  hereby  enacted  by  the 
Authority  of  the  same  That  there  shall  be  one  Public  School  estab- 
lished and  kept  in  the  City  of  New  York  to  teach  Latin,  Greek  and 
all  the  Parts  of  Mathematicks  from  the  First  Day  of  December  next 
ensuing  to  the  First  Day  of  December  which  will  be  in  the  year  One 
Thousand  Seven  Hundred  and  Thirty  Seven,  and  that  the  above 
named  Alexander  Malcolm  shall  be  Master  thereof  during  that  Time 
under  the  Regulations  and  Restrictions,  and  for  the  Reward  and 
Encouragement  herein  after  mentioned. 

Be  it  further  Enacted  by  the  same  Authority  that  the  above 
named  School  Master  or  the  School  Master  of  such  School  for  the 
Time  being,  shall  for  and  in  Consideration  of  the  Encouragement 
hereinafter  mentioned,  be  and  hereby  is  obleged  during  the  Time 
aforesaid  to  provide  at  his  own  Cost  and  Charge  in  the  said  City  of 
New  York  a  proper  and  convenient  House  or  Room,  and  therein  dur- 
ing the  Time  and  Term  aforesaid  (Sundays  and  the  usual  Holydays 
only  excepted)  to  teach  Gratis  and  without  any  further  or  other 
Reward  or  Consideration*  from  any  Person  whatever  than  what  is 
allowed  to  him  by  this  Act,  in  the  best  Manner  he  is  able,  the  Latin 

1  Governor  De  Witt  Clinton,  in  his  discourse  before  the  alumni  of  Columbia 
College,  in  1827,  refers  to  this  preamble  as  a  proof  that  at  that  early  period  it 
was  thought  necessary  to  vindicate  our  country  from  the  aspersions  of  foreigners. 
iSee  a  foot  note  of  Mr.  Butler's  Discourse,  already  quoted  in  Alb.  Inst.  Trans.,  i,  179. 


]28  Annals  of  Public  Education 

and  Greek  Languages,  Arithmetic,  and  all  the  other  Branches  of  the 
Mathematicks,  or  in  such  of  them  as  the  said  School  Master  shall  be 
ordered  and  directed  by  the  Persons  hereinafter  vested  with  the 
power  to  give  such  Orders  and  Directions  the  Number  of  Twenty 
■  Youths  in  the  Proportion  following,  that  is  to  say 

For  the  City  and  County  of  New  York,  Ten.  For  the  City  and 
County  of  Albany,  Two.  For  Kings  County,  One.  For  Queens 
County,  One.  For  Suffolk  County,  One.  For  Westchester  County, 
One.  For  Richmond  County,  One.  For  Orange  County,  One.  For 
Ulster  County,  One ;  and  for  Dutchess  County  One. 

Be  it  further  Enacted  by  the  Authority  aforesaid  that  the  Youths 
so  to  be  taught  are  to  be  recommended  in  Manner  following,  that  is 
to  say ;  For  the  Cities  and  Counties  of  New  York  and  Albany,  by 
the  Respective  Mayors,  Recorders  and  Aldermen  thereof.  And  for 
the  several  Counties  by  the  Justices  at  the  General  Sessions  of  the 
Peace  to  be  held  for  those  Counties  respectively.  And  in  such 
Recommendations  under  their  Hands  they  are  respectively  to  certify 
the  Name  and  Names  of  such  Youth,  their  age  (which  is  not  to  be 
under  Fourteen  Years)  and  that  they  have  been  well  instructed  in 
Reading  and  Writing  of  English.  And  in  such  Certificate  is  to  be 
added  a  Command  to  the  Schoolmaster  for  the  Time  being,  to  receive 
such  Youth  as  a  Scholar ;  who  is  accordingly  to  receive  them  in  his 
School  and  to  teach  him  or  them  in  such  Manner  as  he  by  such  Cer- 
tificate or  Order  shall  be  directed.  And  the  Persons  aforesaid  are 
hereby  impowered  and  directed  not  only  to  grant  such  Certificates 
and  Orders  Gratis,  But  in  like  Manner  from  Time  to  Time  to  supply 
such  Vacancies,  as  shall  or  may,  happen  in  the  said  School  in  the  said 
Number  of  Youths  by  Death  or  otherwise  during  the  Continuance  of 
the  said  Act. 

And  be  it  Enacted  by  the  same  Authority  that  if  the  said 
Mr.  Malcolm  or  the  School  Master  for  the  Time  being  shall 
at  any  Time  during  the  Term  aforesaid  refuse  to  receive  or 
teach  the  Youths  sent  to  him  for  that  Purpose  in  the  Manner  above 
mentioned,  it  shall  absolutely  barr  him  of  the  Reward  by  this  Act 
allowed  to  him  Provided  the  Number  of  such  Youths  do  not  exceed 
the  Number  herein  before  limited :  Nor  shall  it  be  deemed  a  Default 
in  him  if  either  of  the  said  Cities  or  any  of  the  said  Counties  shall  at 
any  Time  recommend  or  send  a  less  Number  than  they  hereby  have  a 
Right  to  do. 

And  to  the  End  the  School  hereby  intended  may  be  duely  and 
orderly  kept  and  the  aforesaid  Scholars  well  instructed  Be  it  further 
Enacted  by  the  same  Authority  that  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  The  Rector  of  Trinity  Church  and  the  Mayor,  Recorder  and 
Aldermen  of  the  City  of  New  York  for  the  Time  being  or  the  Major 
Part  of  them  shall  be  and  hereby  are  impowered  constituted  and 
appointed  Visiters  of  the  said  School  for  the  Term  aforesaid  and 
vested  with  a  Power  to  remove  the  Master  for  the  Time  being  for 
Misbehaviour  or  Neglect  of  his  Duty  and  upon  his  Remove  to  elect 
appoint  and  establish  another  in  his  Place;  as  also  whenever  the 
Master's  Place  is  void  by  any  other  Means  whatsoever  during  the 
Term  aforesaid  the  Visitors  aforesaid  or  the  Major  Part  of  them  are 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  129 

hereby  further  authorized  and  empowered  to  elect  appoint  and 
establish  a  Master  in  such  Place  so  become  void ;  And  the  Master  so 
bj  them  elected  appointed  and  established  shall  be  entitled  to  the 
Salary  or  Reward  hereby  intended  for  the  Master  aforesaid. 

Provided  and  Be  it  Enacted  by  the  same  Authority  that  the  before 
named  Alexander  Malcolm  hereby  appointed  Master  of  the  said  Pub- 
lic School  shall  not  be  removed  during  the  Term  aforesaid  except  for 
Misbehaviour  or  Neglect  of  his  Duty  in  the  keeping  of  the  said 
School  or  in  teaching  of  the  Youth  in  Manner  aforesaid. 

And  that  the  said  Mr.  Malcolm,  or  the  School  Master  for  the  Time 
being  of  the  Public  School  before  mentioned  may  be  ennabled  to 
provide  a  proper  School  and  be  encouraged  to  teach  the  said  Number 
of  Youth  in  Manner  as  aforesaid  Be  it  Enacted  by  the  same  Authority 
that  after  the  Money  already  appropriated  in  and  by  an  Act  Entitled 
An  Act  for  reviving  an  Act  Entitled  An  Act  for  Licencing  Hawkers 
and  Pedlars  within  this  Colony  and  for  paying  the  Sum  of  Sixty 
Pounds  unto  Richard  Bradley  Esqr  passed  this  present  Session  shall 
be  paid  and  discharged  out  of  that  Fund;  All  the  Residue  of  the 
Money  that  shall  arise  from  thence  forward  until  the  First  Day  of 
December  which  will  be  in  the  Year  One  Thousand  Seven  Hundred 
and  Thirty  Seven  by  Virtue  of  the  said  Act  shall  be  and  hereby  is 
applied  for  and  towards  the  Encouragement  of  such  School  Master  as 
aforesaid.  And  for  the  orderly  and  effectual  paying  of  the  same  to 
him,  The  Treasurer  of  this  Colony  shall  be  and  hereby  is  enjoined 
yearly  and  every  Year  during  the  Continuance  of  the  said  Act  to 
state  an  Account  of  that  Fund  deducting  out  of  the  Money  that  has 
already  arisen  or  may  arise  thereby  Six  Pence  in  the  Pound  for  his 
receiving  and  paying  the  same,  as  likewise  what  by  the  said  Act  'and 
a  former  Act  he  has  been  directed  to  pay  out  of  the  same :  Which 
Account  so  stated  he  is  hereby  further  enjoined  annually  between  the 
First  and  the  Tenth  Day  of  December  to  deliver  unto  his  Excel- 
lency the  Governour  who  is  thereupon  requested  to  issue  Warrants 
in  Council  for  so  much  as  by  such  Account  shall  appear  to  be  in  the 
Treasury  by  Virtue  of  that  Fund  payable  to  the  said  Mr  Malcolm,  or 
to  the  Schoolmaster  for  the  time  being :  Which  Warrants  the  said 
Treasurer  is  hereby  likewise  directed  from  Time  to  Time  to  pay  and 
discharge  out  of  the  said  Fund  accordingly. 

And  for  a  further  Encouragement  to  the  said  School  Master  or  the 
School  Master  for  the  Time  being  Be  it  Enacted  by  the  Authority 
aforesaid  That  over  and  above  the  Sum  or  Sums  of  Money  annually 
to  be  raised  in  the  City  of  New  York,  by  Virtue  of  an  Act  Entitled 
an  Act  for  settling  a  Ministry  and  raising  a  Maintenance  for  them  in 
the  City  of  New  York  Counties  of  Richmond  Westchester  and 
Queens  County  passed  in  the  Fourth  Year  of  King  William  and 
Queen  Mary  there  shall  at  the  same  Time  in  the  same  Manner  and 
by  the  same  persons  be  assessed  levyed  and  collected  and  yearly 
paid  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  said  City  during  the  Continuance  of  this 
Act  the  Sum  of  Fourty  Pounds  Currant  Money  of  this  Colony  besides  +/ 
the  Charge  of  collecting  and  paying  the  same,  For  which  Sum  so  to 
be  annually  paid  during  the  said  Term  the  Mayor  of  the  said  City 
for  the  Time  being  in  Common  Council  convened  is  yearly  to  issue 

9 


130  Annals  of  Public  Education 

Warrants  for  the  same  on  the  said  City  Treasurer  payable  Quarterly 
to  the  above  named  Mr  Malcolm  or  the  School  Master  for  the  Time 
being.  And  the  said  Mayor,  the  said  Treasurer  and  all  Persons  who 
are  to  assess  levy  and  collect  the  above  mentioned  Tax  for  the  Minis- 
ter and  Poor  are  hereby  strictly  charged  and  commanded  to  act  con- 
formable to  the  true  Intent  and  Meaning  of  this  Clause. 

Always  Provided  and  Be  it  further  Enacted  by  the  same  Author- 
ity that  whenever  the  Fund  of  Hawkers  and  Pedlars  shall  during  the 
(Term  aforesaid  happen  to  exceed  the  Sum  of  Fourty  Pounds  per 
Annum  such  Overplus  shall  remain  in  the  Treasury,  so  Nevertheless 
as  that  the  said  Sallary  for  the  whole  Five  Years  out  of  the  said  Fund 
does  not  fall  short  of  the  Sum  of  Two  Hundred  Pounds  any  Thing 
herein  to  the  contrary  thereof  notwithstanding. 

And  be  it  further  Enacted  by  the  Authority  aforesaid  That  this 
act  shall  be  deemed  a  public  Act  and  accepted  as  such  in  all  Courts 
and  by  all  Officers  within  this  Colony. 

City  of  New  York,  Die  Jovis,  12th  October  1732, 
New  York  Oct  14th  1732  In  the  Sixth  Year  of  his  Majesties  Keign 

I  assent  to  this  bill        „  Generall  Assembly  for  the  Colony  of  New  York, 

enacting  the  same  &  This  bill  having  been  Read  three  times 

order  it  to  be  enrolled  Resolved  That  the  bill  do  Pass 

W.  COSBY.  By  order  of  the  Generall  Assembly 

A.  D.  PHILIPSE  Speaker 

Die  Jovis  12  Oct  1732  This  Bill  being  Passed  Ordered,  That 
Maj  Van  Kensselaer  do  carry  the  Bill  to  the  Council  &  desire  their 
concurrence  thereto. 

G.  LUDLOW  Clk 

1732,  Oct  13th  read  the  first  time  and  ordered  a  second  reading 
P.  M.     read  a  second  time  and  committed. 

14th  reported  by  Mr.  Harrison  without  amendt  read  ye  third  time 
&  pastMr.  Harrison  to  acquaint.  ye  house  therewith. 

FREDK  MORRIS 

The  following  newspaper  announcements  are,  for  the  present  at 
least,  our  only  sources  of  information  relative  to  the  internal  man- 
agement of  Mr.  Malcolm's  School : 

Alexander  Malcolm,  Master  of  the  Grammar-School  in  the  City  of 
New  York,  desires  to  represent  to  the  Publick,  the  great  Disadvan- 
tages to  Education,  by  Scholars  who  are  meer  beginners  in  Latin, 
dropping  into  a  School  at  different  and  uncertain  times  ;  The  Conse- 
quence of  which  is,  that  a  Teacher  can  take  charge  of  but  very  few, 
since  one  or  two  in  the  same  Form  of  Lesson,  take  up  as  much 
time  as  a  dozen,  (which  is  the  present  case  of  the  School)  or  he 
must  make  very  slow  and  tedious  Work  of  it,  if  there  be  many. 
Then  again,  On  the  Scholars  parr  [part],  this  Circumstance  make 
their  Coming  both  unpleasant,  and  consequently  lingering,  for 
want  of  Companions  of  their  Studies ;  and  less  successful,  for  want 
of  that  Emulation  among  Scholars  in  the  same  Form,  which  is  a  great 
Spur  to  their  Application.     Upon  these  Considerations  it  is,  that  in 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  131 

all  well  regulated  Schools,  there  are  certain  stated  Times,  at  which 
only  Beginners  in  Latin  are  received  to  school.  As  the  Public 
School  in  this  place  begins  to  thrive,  and  'tis  hoped,  will  do  so  more  and 
more,  from  a  growing  Sense  of  the  value  of  Education,  and  the  very 
apt  Genius  of  your  Youth,  with  the  successful  Progress  many 
have  already  made  (for  which  an  Appeal  to  proper  Judges  would  be 
gladly  submitted  to)  Mr.  Malcolm  does  therefore  hope,  the  Publick 
will  look  upon  it  as  a  Proposal  made  for  the  benefit  of  their  Children, 
That  there  be  a  stated  time  for  entering  such  as  are  to  begin ;  and 
tho'  once  a  year,  as  the  most  reasonable,  is  the  Method  of  the  best 
Schools  in  our  Mother  Country  (whom  we  will  not,  sure,  be  ashamed 
of  for  a  Pattern)  ahd  [and]  will  be  absolutely  necessary  when  this 
School  grows  Numerous ;  yet  in  the  meantime  he  proposes,  Twice  a 
year,  viz.  the  Months  of  February  and  August,  in  which  he  will 
receive  meer  Beginners  in  Latin.  And  as  he  has  laid  this  Proposal 
before  the  Visitors  of  the  School,  and  the  same  is  approved  of  and 
consented  to  by  them,  he  Resolves  to  take  none  but  within  these 
Times  (excepting  such  as  are  fit  to  joyn  some  of  the  Forms  that  are 
in  the  School.) 

As  the  Continuance  of  this  Advertisement  for  a  sufficient  Time, 
will  give  due  Information  of  this  useful  and  necessary  Pule,  so 
no  body  can  be  baulked  or  disappointed  but  through  their  own  fault, 
and  will  therefore  have  no  reason  to  complain  of  it,  Whoever  then 
have  Children  fit,  and  designed  for  the  School,  will  be  pleased  to 
consider  this  in  time,  and  contribute  what's  so  easily  in  their  power 
to  bring  the  Publick  Education  upon  an  orderly  and  advantageous 
footing. 

There  having  been  some  Complaints,  That  the  younger  Scholars  at 
this  School  are  in  hazard  of  losing  their  Writing,  through  the  loss  of 
Time  and  Diversion,  occasioned  by  their  going  from  one  School  to 
another.  Mr.  Malcolm  acquaints  the  Publick,  That  he  has  appointed 
a  convenient  hour  every  day,  in  which  he  Teaches  Writing  to  such 
of  his  Latin  Scholars  as  think  fit  to  employ  him. 

At  the  said  School  are  Taught  all  the  Branches  of  the  Mathematicks, 
Geometry,  Algebra,  Geography,  Navigation,  and  Merchants  Book- 
keeping after  the  most  Perfect  manner.  [New-York  Gazette,  Numb. 
480 2,  Dec.  30  to  Jan.  7, 1734.] 

Some  Persons  Having  been  Disapprehended,  because  of  their  hav- 
ing either  forgot,  or  never  seen  the  Advertisement  that  was  formerly 
made  upon  settling  the  Time  of  receiving  into  the  Publick  Grammar 
School  established  in  the  City  of  New  York,  such  S[c]holars  as  are 
now  Beginners.  The  Publick  is  hereby  again  Informed  That  there 
are  two  Time  a  year  apponted  for  Receiving  such  Scholars,  Viz, 
The  Months  of  August  and  February,  such  Schollars  as  are  fit  for 
any  of  the  Classes  will  be  received  at  any  time.  [New- York  Gazette, 
Numb.  560 4,  July  18  to  25, 1736.] 

The  foregoing  act  of  Oct.  14,  1732,  having  expired  by  its  own 
limitation,  on  the  1st  day  of  December,  1737,  an  act  embodying  the 
same  general  provisions,  but  limited  to  the  term  of  one  year  from  the 


132  Annals  of  Public  Education 

same  date,  was  passed  by  the  General  Assembly.  A  strenuous  oppo- 
sition to  the  bill,  while  pending  in  the  General  Assembly,  is  indicated 
by  the  fact  that  the  ayes  and  noes  on  two  substantive  motions  in  the 
committee  of  the  whole  are  entered  upon  the  Journal,  and  that  one 
of  these  motions,  that  for  continuing  the  appropriation  from  the 
Hawkers  and  Pedlars'  Fund,  prevailed  by  a  majority  of  but  one 
vote ;  the  other,  authorizing  New  York  city  to  assume  its  share  of 
the  pecuniary  burden,  gained  a  majority  of  seven. 

The  Journal  record  is  as  follows  (omitting  routine  items  suffi- 
ciently indicated  by  memoranda  annexed  to  the  act  as  hereafter 
given) : 

[In  General  Assembly.'] 

Die  Marti*,  3  ho.  P.  M.  Oct.  18,  1737. 

#  *  *  * 

Simon  Johnson,  Esq ;  moved  for  Leave  to  bring  in  a  Bill  to  con- 
tinue an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  this  Colony,  entitled,  An 
Act,  to  encourage  a  public  School  in  the  City  and  County  of  New 
York,  for  teaching  Latin,  Greek,  and  Mathematicks. 

Ordered,  That  Leave  be  given  to  bring  in  a  Bill  accordingly. 

*  *  *  * 

Die  Mercurij,  3  ho.  P.  M.  Nov.  30,  1737. 

The  House  resolved  itself  into  a  Committee  of  the  whole  House, 
upon  the  Bill,  entitled,  [as  above]  ;  after  some  Time  spent  therein, 

A  Motion  was  made,  by  David  Jones,  Esq ;  and  the  Question  was 
put,  whether  Mr.  Malcolm,  the  Latin  School  Master,  be  allowed 
Forty  Pounds,  per  Ann.  out  of  the  Moneys  to  arise,  by  Virtue  of  the 
Act,  for  licensing  Hawkers  and  Pedlers  within  this  Colony. 

For  the  Affirmative.  For  the  Negative. 

Col.  Matthews,  Adolph  Philipse,  Esq ; 

Capt.  Livingston,  Col.  Beekman, 

Mr.  Abraham  Lot,  David  Jones,  Esq : 

James  Alexander,  Esq;  John  Walter,  Esq ; 

Mr.  Speaker  [Lewis  Morris,  Jr.],  Col.  Hicks, 

Col.  Schuyler,  Col.  Chambers, 

Capt.  Winne,  Mr.  Tur  Boss, 

Capt.  Brat,  John  Lecount,  Esq ; 

Johannis  Lot,  Esq  ;  Mr.  Hardenbergh, 

Mr.  Verplank,  David  Pierson, 

Col.  Philipse  [Frederick],  Major  Piatt, 
Col.  Morris  [Lewis  Morris,  Sen.],  Major  Mott. 
Col.  Rensselaer. 

It's  carried  in  the  Affirmative. 

A  motion  was  made,  and  the  Question  was  put,  whether  Mr.  Mal- 
colm, the  Latin  School  Master,  be  allowed  Forty  Pounds,  per  Ann. 
from  the  City  of  New  York. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  133 

For  the  Affirmative.  For  the  Negative. 

[The  same  as  on  the  former  motion,  [The  same  as  on  the  former 

except  Mr.  Abraham  Lot,] ;  also,  motion,  except  David 

Mr.  Hardenbergh,  Jones,      Esq;       Col. 

Col.  Hicks,  Hicks;   Mr.   Harden- 

David  Jones,  Esq ;  bergh;      and      David 

David  Pierson.  Pierson] ;     also,    Mr. 

Abraham  Lot. 
It's  carried  in  the  Affirmative. 

A  motion  was  made,  and  the  Question  was  put,  whether  Mr.  Mal- 
colm's Salary  be  continued  for  a  longer  Time  than  one  Year  % 
It's  carried  in  the  Negative. 

*  *  *  * 

Die  Jovis,  3  ho.  P.  M.  Dec.  1,  1737 

The  House  resolved  itself  into  a  Committee  of  the  whole  House, 
upon  the  Bill,  entitled,  [as  above] ;  after  some  Time  spent  therein, 
Mr.  Speaker  resumed  the  Chair ;  and  Simon  Johnson,  Esq ;  reported 
from  the  Committee,  That  they  had  gone  through  the  Bill,  altered 
the  Title,  made  several  Amendments,  and  added  several  Clauses 
thereto ;  which  they  had  directed  him  to  report,  when  the  House  will 
please  receive  the  same. 

Ordered,  That  the  Report  be  now  received. 

Simon  Johnson,  Esq ;  accordingly  reported  the  Amendments  and 
Clauses,  which  the  Committee  had  made  to  the  Bill,  and  which  they 
had  directed  him  to  report  to  the  House ;  and  he  read  the  Report  in 
his  Place,  and  afterwards  delivered  the  Bill,  with  the  Amendments 
and  Clauses  in  at  the  Table;  where  the  same  was  again  read,  and 
agreed  to  by  the  House. 

Ordered,  That  the  Bill,  with  the  Amendments  and  Clauses  be 
ingrossed. 

The  following  copy  of  the  act  under  consideration,  which  is  nearly 
identical  in  its  recitals  and  provisions  with  that  of  Oct.  14,  1732,  is  a 
transcript  of  the  original  manuscript  in  the  Office  of  the  Secretary 
of  State : 

An  Act  for  the  further  Encouragement  of  a  Public  School  in  the 
City  of  New  York  for  Teaching  Lattin  Greek  &  Mathematics 

Whereas  an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  this  Colony  Passed 
in  the  Sixth  year  of  his  present  Majisties  Reign  Intituled  an  Act  to 
Encourage  a  Public  School  in  the  City  of  New  York  for  Teaching 
Lattin  Greek  and  Mathematics  is  Expired  by  its  own  Limitation. 

And  whereas  a  Liberal  Education  is  not  only  a  very  great  Accom- 
plishment but  the  Properest  means  to  attain  to  knowledge  Improve 
the  mind  Morality  &  good  Manners  and  to  make  men  Better  wiser 
and  more  usef  ull  to  their  Country,  as  well  as  to  themselves 

And  whereas  the  City  and  Colony  of  New  York  abounds  with 
youths  of  a  Genius  not  Inferiour  to  other  Countries,  it  must  undoubt- 
edly be  a  Loss  to  the  Publick  and  a  Misfortune  to  such  youths  if  they 


134  Annals  of  Public  Education 

are  destitute  of  the  opportunity  to  Improve  their  Capacities  by  Edu- 
cation 

And  whereas  Mr.  Alexander  Malcolm  the  Present  publick  School 
Master  has  given  Satisfactory  proof  of  his  abilities  to  Teach  Lattin 
Greek  &  the  Mathematicks,  But  as  the  Income  of  that  School  Falls 
Short  of  a  comfortable  Support  for  himself  &  Family.  It  is  there- 
fore conceived  reasonable  that  a  Suitable  Encouragement  Should  be 
given  and  Provided  by  the  Publick,  under  such  Regulations  & 
Restrictions  as  may  Effectually  answer  the  good  Ends  &  Purposes 
thereby  proposed. 

Be  it  therefore  Enacted  by  his  Honour  the  Lieutenant  Governour 
the  Council  and  the  General  Assembly,  and  it  is  hereby  Enacted  by 
the  Authority  of  the  Same,  that  there  shall  be  one  Publick  School 
Established  and  kept  in  the  City  of  New  York  to  Teach  Lattin 
Greek  and  all  the  Parts  of  the  Mathematicks  from  the  iirst  day  of 
December  in  this  present  year  one  thousand  Seven  hundred  &  thirty 
Seven,  to  the  first  Day  of  December  then  next  ensuing,  and  that 
the  above  named  Alexander  Malcolm  shall  be  the  Master  thereof 
During  fhat  time  under  the  Regulations  &  Restrictions  &  for  the 
rewards  and  encouragement  hereinafter  &  in  an  act  Intituled  an 
Act  for  Licencing  Hawkers  &  Pedlars  within  this  Colony  is  Men- 
tioned. 

And  be  it  further  Enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid  that  the  above 
named  School  Master  or  the  School  Master  of  such  School  for  the 
time  being  Shall  for  &  in  Consideration  of  the  Reward  &  Encourage- 
ment hereinafter  and  in  the  last  mentioned  Act  be  and  hereby  is 
obliged  during  the  time  aforesaid  to  provide  at  his  own  Cost  & 
Charge  in  the  City  of  New  York  a  proper  &  Convenient  House  or 
Room  &  therein  during  the  time  and  Term  aforesaid  (Sundays  and 
the  usual  Holy  days  only  excepted)  To  teach  Gratis,  and  without  any 
farther  reward  or  consideration  from  any  Person  whatsoever  than 
what  is  allowed  to  him  by  this  Act  in  the  best  manner  He  is  able, 
the  Lattin  &  Greek  Languages,  arithmetick  &  all  other  Branches  of 
the  Mathematicks,  or  in  such  of  them  as  the  Said  School  Master  shall 
be  ordered  &  Directed  by  the  Persons  hereinafter  vested  with  the 
Power  to  give  such  orders  &  Directions  the  number  of  Twenty 
youths  in  the  Proportion  following  that  is  to  say — 

For  the  City  &  County  of  New  York  Ten,  For  the  City  and 
County  of  Albany  Two,  For  Kings  County,,  one  For  Queens  County 
one,  For  Suffolk  County  one  For  West  Chester  one,  For  Richmond 
one  For  Orange  County  one,  For  Ulster  County  one,  &  For  Dutchess 
County  one. 

And  be  it  further  Enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid  that  the 
youths  so  to  be  Taught  are  to  be  recommended  in  manner  following. 
That  is  to  say  For  the  Cities  &  Counties  of  New  York  &  Albany,  by 
the  respective  Mayors,  Recorders  &  Aldermen  thereof,  and  for  the 
Several  Counties  by  the  Justices  at  the  General  Sessions  of  the  Peace 
to  be  held  for  those  Counties  respectively  and  in  Such  Recommenda- 
tions under  their  hands,  They  are  respectively  to  certifie  the  name 
&  names  of  such  youth  or  youths  his  and  their  age  (which  is  not  to 
be  under  nine  years)  and  that  They  have  been  well  Instructed  in 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  135 

reading  &  writting  of  English  &  in  such  certificate  is  to  be  added  a 
Command  to  the  School  Master  for  the  time  being  to  receive  Such 
youth  or  youths  as  a  Scholar  or  Scholars  who  is  accordingly  to 
receive  him  or  them  into  his  School,  and  to  Teach  him  or  them  in 
Such  manner,  as  he  by  Such  Certificate  or  Order  shall  be  directed 
and  the  Persons  aforesaid  are  hereby  Impowered  and  Directed  not 
only  to  Grant  Such  Certificates  &  orders  Gratis  But  in  like  manner 
from  time  to  time  to  Supply  Such  Vacancies  as  shall  or  may  happen 
in  the  Said  School  in  the  Said  Number  of  Youths,  by  Death  or 
otherwise  during  the  Continuance  of  this  Act. 

And  be  it  Enacted  by  the  Same  authority,  that  if  the  Said  Mr. 
Malcolm  or  the  School  Master  for  the  time  being  Shall  at  "any  time 
during  the  Term  aforesaid,  Refuse  to  Receive  or  Teach  the  Youths 
Sent  to  him  for  that  Purpose,  in  the  manner  above  mentioned,  It 
shall  absolutely  Barr  him  of  the  reward  by  this  act  allowed  to  him, 
Provided  the  number  of  Such  Youths  do  not  exceed  the  number 
herein  before  Limited,  nor  shall  it  be  deemed  a  default  in  him,  if  the 
said  Cities  or  Counties  Shall  at  any  time  Recommend  or  send  a  Less 
number  than  They  hereby  have  a  Right  to  do.  And  to  the  end  the 
School  hereby  Intended,  may  be  duly  &  orderly  kept,  and  the  afore- 
said scholars  well  Instructed 

Be  it  further  Enacted  by  the  Same  authority,  That  the  Justices  of 
the  Supream  Court,  the  Rector  of  Trinity  Church,  and  the  Mayor 
Recorder  &  aldermen  of  the  City  of  New  Y  ork  for  the  time  being  or 
the  Major  part  of  Them,  Shall  be  &  hereby  are  Impowered  consti- 
tuted and  appointed  Visitors  of  the  Said  School  for  the  Term  afore- 
said, and  Vested  with  a  Power  to  remove  the  Master  for  the  Time 
being  for  Misbehaviour  or  Neglect  of  his  Duty,  and  upon  his  removal 
to  Elect  Appoint  &  Establish  another  in  his  Place,  as  also  whenever 
the  Masters  Place  is  void  by  any  other  means  whatsoever  during  the 
term  aforesaid,  the  Visitors  aforesaid  or  the  Major  part  of  them  are 
hereby  further  authorized  &  Impowered  to  Elect  appoint  &  Establish 
a  Master  in  such  Place  so  become  void,  and  the  Master  so  by  them 
Elected,  Appointed  &  Established,  Shall  be  Intituled  to  such  Propor- 
tion of  the  Salary  or  Reward  during  the  time  of  his  Service  as  the 
Master  aforesaid  have  been,  had  he  continued. 

Provided  and  be  it  Enacted  by  the  Same  authority  that  the  before 
named  Alexandar  Malcolm  hereby  appointed  master  of  the  said  Pub- 
lic School  Shall  not  be  removed  during  the  term  aforesaid,  Except  for 
Misbehaviour  or  Neglect  of  his  Duty  in  the  keeping  of  the  Said  School 
or  in  teaching  of  the  Youths  in  manner  aforesaid. 

And  for  the  further  Encouragement  of  the  Said  School  Master  or 
the  School  Master  for  the  time  being 

Be  it  Enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  over  and  above  the 
Sum  or  Sums  of  Money  annually  to  be  raised  in  the  City  of  New 
York  by  Virtue  of  an  act  Intituled  an  act  for  Settling  a  Ministry  and 
raising  a  Maintenance  for  them  in  the  City  of  New  York,  Counties 
of  Richmond,  West  Chester  &  Queens  County,  Passed  in  the  fourth 
year  of  King  William  &  Queen  Mary,  There  Shall  at  the  same  time 
in  the  Same  Manner  &  by  the  Same  Persons  be  assessed  Levyed  and 
Collected  &  Paid  to  the  ^Treasurer  of  the  Said  City,  during  the  con- 


136  Annals  of  Public  Education 

tinuance  of  this  act  the  Sum  of  Forty  Pounds  Currant  Money  of  this 
Colony,  besides  the  Charge  of  Collecting  &  Paying  the  Same,  For 
which  Sum  so  to  be  paid  during  the  Said  Time,  the  Mayor  of  the 
Said  City,  for  the  time  being,  in  Common  Council  Convened  is  to 
Issue  Warrants  for  the  Same,  on  the  City  Treasurer  Payable  Quar- 
terly to  the  above  named  Mr.  Malcolm  or  the  School  Master  for  the 
time  being,  and  the  Said  Mayor  the  Said  Treasurer,  and  all  Persons 
who  are  to  Assess  Levy  and  Collect  the  above  mentioned  Tax  for  the 
Minister  &  Poor  are  hereby  Strictly  Charged  &  Commanded  to  act 
Conformable  to  the  true  Intent  &  meaning  of  this  Clause. 

And  be  it  further  Enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid  that  this  act, 
Shall  be  Deemed  a  Public  act  and  accepted  as  Such  in  all  courts,  & 
by  all  officers  within  this  Colony. 

'    City  of  New  York  Die  Sabati  3d  December  1737. 
In  the  Eleventh  Year  of  his  Ma'tys  reign  General  Assembly  for 
the   Colony  of  New  York  This  Bill  having  been  read  three  times 
Resolved  that  this  Bill  do  Pass. 

LEWIS  MORRIS  JunT  Speaker. 
New  York  December  the  16th  1737 

I  Assent  to  this  Bill  enacting  the  same  and  order  it  to  be  enrolled. 

GEO  CLARKE 

[Endorsed]  "Die  Sabati  3d  December  1737. 

"  This  Bill  being  Passed 

"  Ordered  That  Capt  Winne  do  carry  the  Bill  to  the  council  & 
u  desire  their  concurrence  thereto  LUDLOW  CI 

[In  Council.'] 
"  1737— Deer.  6th  read  the  l8t  time  and  ord  a  2d  reading.— 7th  read 
"  a  2d  time  &  remitted — 8th  reported  by  Mr.  Horsmanden  without 
"amendment  &  ordered  a  3d  reading — 9th  read  3d  time  &  passed 

On  the  day  of  the  final  passage  of  the  foregoing  act  by  the  Coun- 
cil (ten  days  prior  to  its  approval  by  the  acting  Governor),  a  petition 
from  Mr.  Malcolm,  for  relief,  in  respect  to  a  deficiency  in  the  fund 
set  apart  for  a  moiety  of  his  salary,  was  presented  to  the  General 
Assembly,  and  adverse  action  was  taken  thereon,  as  appears  by  the 
following  extract  from  the  Journal : 

[In  General  Assembly.] 

Die  Martis,  3  ho.  P.  M.  Dec.  6,  1737. 
*  *  -x-  * 

A  Petition  of  Alexander  Malcolm,  was  presented  to  the  House, 
and  read,  setting  forth,  That  by  Virtue  of  an  Act  of  General 
Assembly,  passed  in  the  Year  1732,  he  was  intitled  to  Eighty 
Pounds,  per  Annum,  for  ^.ve  Years ;  whereof  Forty  Pounds  yearly, 
was  laid  upon  the  Fund  of  the  Pedlers  License,  and  that  by  Failure 
of  said  Fund,  there  is  now  a  Deficiency  unpaid  to  him  of  One  Hun- 
dred and  Fifteen  Pounds,  Two  Shillings  and  Six-pence,  therefore 


in  the  State  of  New  York,  137 

humbly  prays  this  honourable  House  will  order  the  Payment  of  said 
Deficiency,  and  relieve  him  from  the  Difficulty  of  so  great  a  Disap- 
pointment. 

And  a  Debate  arising  thereupon, 

A  Motion  was  made,  and  the  Question  was  put,  whether  the  afore- 
said One  Hundred  and  Fifteen  Pounds,  Two  Shillings  and  Six-pence, 
be  a  Debt  due  from  this  Colony  ? 

For  the  Affirmative.  For  the  Negative. 

Simon  Johnson,  Esq ;  Col.  Schuyler,  did  not  vote. 

James  Alexander,  Esq ;  Col.  Chambers, 

Capt.  Livingston,  David  Jones,  Esq ; 

Col.  Morris,  John  Walter,  Esq ; 

Capt.  Winne,  Mr.  Hardenbergh, 

Col.  Rensselaer,  Jacobus  Turboss,  Esq ; 

Mr.  Verpla?ick.  Major  Mott, 

John  Lecount,  Esq ; 
Johannis  Lot,  Esq ; 
Mr.  Abraham  Lot. 
Col.  Flicks, 
Col.  Matthews, 
Mr.  Peirsen, 
Major  Piatt, 
Adolphe  Philipse,  Esq, 
Col.  Beekman, 
Capt.  Bratt, 
It's  carried  in  the  Negative. 

A  Motion  was  made,  and  the  Question  was  put,  whether  the  Peti- 
tion be  rejected  ? 

For  the  Affirmative.  For  the  Negative. 

[The  members  voting  for  the  [The  members  voting  for  the  Affir- 
Negative,  on  the  former  mative  on  the  former  motion]  ; 

motion.]  .     also,  Col.  Schuyler. 

It's  carried  in  the  Affirmative. 

Ordered,  That  the  said  Petition  be  rejected  accordingly. 

Governor  Clarke's  views  on  this  subject  are  indicated  by  the  follow- 
ing extracts  from  a  letter  to  the  Lords  of  Trade : 

New  York  June  2,  1738. 
My  Lords 
I  do  myself  the  honor  to  send  to  your  Lordp8  the  Acts  of  Assem- 
bly passed  last  Session.     ...     I  beg  leave  to  mention  the  titles  of 
the  Acts,  and  to  make  such  remarks  on  them  as  I  presume  to  hope 
may  give  your  Lordships  satisfaction. 

■3fr  "3fr  w  if 

N°  21.  An  Act  for  the  further  encouragement  of  a  publick  school 

[etc]. 
N°  22.  An  Act  to  restrain  Hawkers  and  Pedlars  [etc.] 
Being  confident  that  publick  schools  for  the  education  of  youth  will 

always  find  countenance  from  your  Lordships  I  will  lay  the  last  two 


138  Annals  of  Public  Education 

Bills  before  you  without  any  further  remarks  in  their  favour ;  I  wish 

the  Assembly  had  made  the  reward  greater  than  it  is  like  to  be,  from 

the  last  of  these  Bills,     that  money  was  apply'd  before,  to  the  like 

use  but  fell  short  of  the  sum  intended,  nor  could  the  School  master 

get  any  redress  tho  he  petition'd  for  it  or  got  some  of  his  friends  to 

move  the  house  in  his  behalf;  it  is  not  likely  it  will  bring  in  more 

now  however  the  master  having  at  present  no  other  way  of  living  is 

obliged  to  submit. 

*  *  *  * 

Geo:  Clarke.1 

Mr.  Malcolm  subsequently  renewed  his  petition  for  the  same 
object,  with  probably  deserved  success: 

[In  General  Assembly.] 

Die  Jovis,  3  ho.  P.  M.  Oct.  16,  1740. 
The  Memorial  and  Petition  of  Alexander  Malcolm,  was  presented 
to  the  House,  and  read,  setting  forth,  That  the  General  Assembly  of 
this  Colony,  the  9th  of  August  1732,  taking  into  Consideration,  the 

freat  Use  and  Yalue  of  Education  and  Learning,  with  the  proper 
[eans  thereof  in  this  Country,  and  the  Necessity  of  publick  Schools, 
passed  a  Bill,  establishing  a  publick  School  in  the  City  of  New-  York, 
for  the  Space  of  Rye  Years,  for  teaching  the  Latin  and  Greek  Lan- 
guages and  Mathematicks,  and  appointed  your  Petitioner  Master 
thereof,  allowing  a  yearly  Salary  of  Eighty  Pounds  Currency,  viz. 
Forty  Pounds,  to  be  paid  by  a  Tax  raised  on  the  City  of  New-  York  ; 
and  Forty  Pounds,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  Money  arising  from  the 
Fund  of  Pedlers  and  Hawkers ;  but  at  the  Expiration  of  the  said  five 
Years,  that  Fund  was  deficient  One  Hundred  and  Eleven  Pounds, 
Two  Shillings  and  Six-pence,  of  the  Salary  to  be  paid  out  of  it,  for 
the  whole  Time;  whereupon  the  Promises  considered  of  a  faithful 
discharge  of  a  laborious  and  important  Service  to  the  Country,  the 
said  Petitioner  relies  upon  the  Justice  and  Equity  of  the  honourable 
House,  for  such  a  Relief,  as  is  agreeable  to  the  Nature  of  the  Case. 

A  Motion  was  made,  and  the  Question  was  put,  whether  Mr.  Mal- 
colm, had  according  to  the  Act,  entitled,  An  Act,  to  encourage  a  pub- 
lic School  in  this  City  of  New- York,  for  teaching  Latin,  Greek  and 
Mathematicks;  an  equitable  Demand  for  Arrearages  set  forth  by 
his  Petition  ?  It  was  carried  in  the  Affirmative,  in  Manner  follow- 
ing, to  wit. 

For  the  Affirmative.  For  the  Negative. 

Col.  Morris,  Mr.  Nicol, 

Col.  Schuyler,  Mr.  Lecount, 

Col.  Moore,  Mr.  Gale, 

Col.  Philipse,  Mr.  Turboss, 

Mr.  Purdy,  Mr.  Pierson, 

Capt.   Winne,  Mr.  Hardenbergh,       ' 

Mr.  Bradt,  Mr.  Abraham  Lott, 

1  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,  vi,  117-119. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  139 

For  the  Affirmative.  For  the  Negative. 

Col.  Rensselaer,  Mr.  Cornel, 

Mr.  Ludlow,  Mr.  Jones, 

Mr.  Stilioell, 
Col.  Lott, 
Capt.  Livingston, 
Col.  Beekman, 
Mr.  Clarkson, 

A  comparison  of  this  vote  with  that  of  Dec.  6,  1737,  on  the  same 
question,  shows  that  of  fifteen  members  present  on  both  occasions, 
three,  viz.,  Mr.  Bradt,  Col.  Lott  and  Col.  Beekman,  changed  their 
votes  in  favor  of  the  petitioner,  and  that  among  the  old  members  he 
thus  secured  a  majority  of  two.  The  members  voting  only  on  the 
latter  occasion  stood  six  affirmative  to  three  negative,  making  a  total 
majority  of  live  in  favor  of  discharging  the  amount  claimed  by  the 
worthy  schoolmaster,  who  seems,  however,  to  have  lost  the  use  of  his 
money  for  at  least  three  years. 

The  General  Assembly  at  once  formally  confirmed  the  foregoing 
vote  by  the  adoption  of  the  following  resolution  and  order : 

Resolved,  That  said  Arrears  be  discharged  by  the  Act,  entitled, 
An  Act,  to  restrain  Hawkers  and  Pedlers  within  this  Colony,  from 
selling  without  Licence. 

Ordered,  That  Col.  Beekman  and  Col.  Morris,  prepare  and  bring 
in  a  Bill,  to  pay  unto  the  Rev.  Mr.  Malcolm,  the  Sum  of  One  Hun- 
dred and  Eleven  Pounds,  Seven  Shillings  and  Six-pence,  out  of  the 

Funds  for  licensing  Hawkers  and  Pedlers. 

■x-  *  *  * 

Die  Veneris,  9  ho.  A.  M.  Oct.  17,  1740. 
Col.  Morris  (according  to  Order)  presented  to  the  House,  a  Bill, 
entitled,  An  Act,  to  pay  unto  the  Rev.  Mr.  Alexander  Malcolm,  the 
Sum  of  One  Hundred  and   Eleven  Pounds,  Seven  Shillings  and  Six- 
pence, out  of  the  Funds  for  licensing  Hawkers  and  Pedlers  /  which 

was  read  the  first  Time,  and  ordered  a  second  Reading. 

#''■'■■•"'#  #  # 

This  bill  was  duly  enacted  into  a  law,  of  which  the  following  is  a 
copy,  from  the  original  manuscript  on  file  in  the  office  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  : 

An  Act  to  pay  to  the  Reverend  Mister  Alexander  Malcolm,  The  Sum 
of  One  Hundred  and  Eleven  pounds,  Seven  Shillings  and  six  pence, 
out  of  the  fund  therein  mentioned. 

Whereas  The  General  Assembly  by  an  Act  passed  in  the  Sixth 
Year  of  his  present  Majestyes  Reign  Entituled  An  Act  to  Encour- 
age a  publick  School  in  the  City  of  New  York  for  Teaching  Latin, 
Greek  and  Mathematicks ;  which  act  was  to  Continue  and  be  of  force 
for  five  Years,  in  which  act  among  other  things  it  is  enacted,  that 


140  Annals  of  Public  Education 

Alexander  Malcolm  shall  be  the  Schoolmaster  of  the  Said  Publick 
School,  and  as  Reward  for  that  Service  it  is  by  the  Said  Act  provided 
and  enacted,  That  out  of  the  fund  of  Hawkers  and  pedlars  he  shall 
Receive  a  Sum  for  the  Said  five  Years  not  less  than  Two  hundred 
pounds  ;  and  the  act  for  Licencing  hawkers  and  pedlars  not  bringing 
in  Sufficient  to  discharge  the  Said  Sum  of  Two  hundred  pounds  and 
the  General  Assembly  conceiving,  That  the  part  of  the  Two  hundred 
pounds  that  remains  Yet  Unpaid  to  the  Said  Alexander  Malcolm,  is 
a  just  debt  due  from  this  Colony ;  and  it  appearing  by  the  Treas- 
urer's accounts  that  there  is  Still  Unpaid,  The  Sum  of  One  hundred 
Eleven  pounds  Seven  Shillings  and  Six  pence 

Be  it  therefore  Enacted  by  his  honour  The  Lieutenant  Governour 
The  Council  and  the  General  Assembly  and  it  is  hereby  Enacted  by 
the  authority  of  the  Same,  That  out  of  the  Monies  arisen  and  to 
arise  by  an  Act  Entituled,  an  Act  to  restrain  Hawkers  and  pedlars 
within  this  Colony  from  Selling  without  Licence,  passed  in  the 
Thirteenth  Year  of  his  Majesties  Reign,  The  Treasurer  Shall  pay  to 
the  said  Alexander  Malcolm  or  Order  the  Sum  of  One  hundred 
Eleven  pounds  Seven  Shillings  and  six  pence  In  manner  following, 
That  is  to  Say  Ten  dayes  after  the  publication  of  this  Act  all  the 
Money  already  in  the  Treasury,  arisen  by  the  aforesaid  Act  of  Hawk- 
ers and  pedlars,  and  so  every  six  Months  thereafter  Until  the  whole 
sum  of  one  hundred  Eleven  pounds  Seven  Shillings  and  Six  pence  is 
paid,  and  his  Receipts  Shall  be  to  the  said  Treasurer  a  Sufficient  dis- 
charge for  so  much  Money 

New  York  Novr  23  1740  City  of  New  York  Die  Lunse 

I  assent  to  this  Bill  enacting  the  20th  October  1740. 

Same  and  order  it  to  be  enrolled  In  the  Fourteenth  year  of  His 

GEO  CLARKE        Matys  reign  General  Assembly 
for  the  Colony  of  New  York  This 
[Endorsed]  An  Act  to  Pay  the     bill  having  been  read  Three  times 
Reverend  Mr  Alexander  Malcolm        Resolved,  This  bill  do  Pass, 
the  Sum  of  £111 :7s:d6  out  of  the  D  PHILIPSE  Speaker. 

Fund  therein  Mentioned. 

Die  Luna  20th  Octo.  1740 
This  bill  being  Passed 

Ordered 
That  Mr  Yerplank  &  Mr  Clarkson 
do  carry  this  Bill  to  the  Council  and  desire  their  Concurence  thereto. 

GEO.  DUNCAN  CI. 

P.  M :  1740.    October  23d :  read  1st  time  &  ordered  a  second  reading. 
P.  M :  27th  read  a  second  time  &  committed  reported  by  Mr  Hors- 
manden  wthout  amendm*  &  ordered  a  third  reading 
29th  read  the  third  time  &  passed 

It  does  not  appear,  unless  from  the  act  itself,  in  what  specific  way 
Mr.  Malcolm  became  possessed  of  that  portion  of  his  salary,  payable 
from  the  "  Hawkers  and  Pedlars'  Fund ;"  but  we  have  full  informa- 
tion so  far  as  relates  to  the  portion  paid  by  the  corporation  of  N.  Y. 


m  the  State  of  New  York.  141 

city,  viz.,  by  quarterly  Warrants  on  the  Treasurer,  issued  by  the 
Mayor,  on  the  order  of  the  Common  Council,  as  appears  from  theii 
Minutes.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  first  order  of  the  Common 
Council,  relative  to  this  subject,  dated  June  8,  1733 : 

Ordered  that  the  Mayor  Issue  his  Warrant  to  the  Treasurer  to  pay 
unto  Mr  Alexander  Malcolm  the  Public  Schoolmaster  of  this  City  or 
Order  the  Sum  of  ten  pounds  curr*  Money  of  this  Colony  out  of  the 
Moneys  in  his  hands  Raised  by  vertue  of  an  act  of  General  Assembly 
of  this  Colony  made  in  the  sixth  year  of  his  present  Majestys  Reign 
entitled  an  Act  to  encourage  a  Publick  School  in  the  City  of  New 
York  for  Teaching  Latin,  Greek  and  Mathematicks,  it  being  in  full 
of  one  Quarter  of  a  years  Reward  or  Sallary  due  to  the  said  Alex- 
ander Malcolm  and  ending  the  first  day  of  this  Instant  June.1 

Similar  orders  were  given  at  regular  intervals,  for  a  period  of  ser- 
vice ending  Dec.  1,  1738,  at  which  time  the  second  act  providing  for 
the  support  of  the  school  expired  by  its  own  limitation.  From  this 
time  we  hear  nothing  further  concerning  either  the  school  or  the 
school  master,  except  Mr.  Butler's  statement  that  the  act  of  1737 
"  was  not  afterwards  renewed ;  but  the  school  was  again  continued, 
and  is  said  to  have  formed  the  germ  of  Columbia  College."  2 

But  for  the  grievances  set  forth  in  the  annexed  petition,  it  is  doubt- 
ful whether  the  petitioner  would  have  been  known  to  us  as  one  of 
the  schoolmasters  of  his  time  : 

To  His  Excellency  George  Clark  Esqr  Lieut*  Governor  of  the  Prov- 
ince of  New  York  &c. 

The  Humble  Petition  of  Walter  Hetherington 
May  it  Please  your  Excellency  to  Know  that  I  your  Petitioner 
have  of  Late  been  a  School-master  at  the  Ferry  and  thanks  be  to 
God  have  given  Satisfaction  to  most  persons  in  the  Education  of 
their  Children  till  by  the  Instigation  of  others  they  did  Last  May 
procure  another  to  set  up  the  profession  in  Oposition  to  me,  and  Last 
week  two  of  my  Neighbors  viz*  John  Stockford  and  Samuel  Hopson 
Butchers  having  some  Difference  together  the  said  John  Stockford 
Cursing  and  Swearing  in  a  most  horrid  Manner  your  Petitioner  inter- 
cepted thinking  to  be  a  Mediator  of  peace  and  he  immediately  us'd 
me  in  the  Like  manner  Swearing  revenge  against  me  and  without 
farther  provocation  as  by  Sufficient  Evidence  may  appear  rashly 
applied  to  Christopher  Codwsse  Essqr  (a  person  very  much  animated 
against  me)  in  the  Nature  of  asking  his  advice  who  told  him  to  come 
the  next  Day  and  the  said  Codwise  being  then  in  a  Hurry  to  come 
over  to  New  York  told  him  to  come  to  him  at  Night  but  ere 
the   said   Codwise  return'd  which  was  about  Ten  o'clock   the  said 

1  Minutes  of  the  Common  Council  (MS.),  iv,  303. 
a  Alb.  Inst.  Trans.,  i,  178, 179. 


142  Annals  of  Public  Education 

John  Stockford  and  his  Family  was  in  Bed.  But  the  said  Cod- 
wise  sent  to  call  him  to  him  to  Mrs  Counsel? s  at  the  Ferry  House 
and  he  called  him  aside  and  advis'd  him  to  Swear  the  peace 
against  your  Petitioner  and  that  he  was  in  Danger  of  his  Life 
and  if  he  would  come  to  his  house  the  next  Morning  he  would 
give  him  his  Oath  with  advice.  Your  Petit1"8  Wife  (We  living 
under  the  same  Poof)  overheard  the  said  Stockford  declare  to 
his  Wife  at  his  return  from  Mr.  Codwise  and  he  accordingly  wTent 
the  next  Morning  and  took  his  Oath  Whereupon  the  said  Codwise 
Issued  out  a  Warrant  against  your  Petitioner  who  being  a  Native  of 
England  and  unacquainted  with  the  Laws  and  Customs  of  this  Colony 
have  since  kept  out  of  their  Way  But  now  your  Petitioner  is  informed 
that  he  the  said  Codwise  hath  granted  a  Warrant  of  Contempt ; 
Whereupon  your  Petitr  was  advis'd  to  make  his  application  to  Sam- 
uel Garitson  Esqr  the  Late  Judge  of  the  Sessions  for  the  County  who 
will'd  me  to  Draw  a  Petition  to  your  Excellency  Wherefore  your 
Petitioner  most  Humbly  beseecheth  your  Excellency  out  of  your  Great 
Compassion  and  Goodness  to  allay  the  Great  Troubles  I  have  met 
with  and  am  Like  to  be  Plung'd  into  by  the  Unmerciful  hands  I  have 
to  deal  with  Your  Petitioner  not  being  in  a  Capacity  to  Contest 
with  them  in  Law  Your  Petitioners  Wife  together  with  two  Small 
Children  being  now  destitute  of  Relief  She  hath  been  with  the  said 
Codwise  and  told  him  she  intended  This  who  imperiously  replied 
.  ,  you  Do  you  Tantalize  me  with  the  Governour  whereby  I 
Leave  it  to  your  Excellency's  Consideration  what  will  become  of  me 
and  my  poor  Family  without  some  Mitigation  from  your  Excellency 
for  your  Petitioner  who  beggs  leave  to  Subscribe  himself  your 
Excellency's 

Most  Obedient  Humble  Servant 

W.  HETHERINGTON  ' 
Endorsed, 

Petition  of  Walter  Hetherington  agt  Christopher  Codwise.  9 
Aug8t  1739  Copy  of  this  to  Mr.  Codwise.1 

It  having  been  previously  shown  that  during  the  Dutch  adminis- 
tration all  persons  were  restrained  from  teaching  school  without  official 
license,  and  that  the  early  English  Governors  were  also  instructed  to 
enforce  a  like  requirement,  it  remains  to  add,  that  this  regulation 
seems  to  have  fallen  into  disuse  during  Governor  Hunter's  adminis- 
tration, the  latest  license  we  have  seen  being  that  issued  by  him  to 
Allane  Jarratt,  in  1712,  as  heretofore- given.  Whether  this  came  to 
be  regarded  as  an  arbitrary  requirement,  which  could  not  well  be 
enforced  in  a  province  rapidly  advancing  toward  free  institutions,  or 
whether  some  other  consideration  prevailed  with  the  crown  and  its 
officers,  we  do  not  propose  to  inquire  ;  but  barely  allude  to  the  fact 
above  stated,  for  the  sake  of  remarking  that  no  legislative  act  to  that 

1  N.  Y.  Col.  MSS.,  lxxii,  120. 


tn  the  State  of  New  FaR&.    =    K     J  143 

effect  was  ever  passed  in  this  Province,  and  that  a  bill  introduced  in 
the  Council  for  the  purpose  of  reviving  this  restriction,  seems  to  have 
been  dropped  in  the  committee  of  the  whole,  as  appears  from  the 
following  record : 

[In  Council.'] 

Monday ',  February  the  17th,  1745,  P.  M. 

*  #  ■*  # 

The  Honoble  Archibald  Kennedy  moved  for  leave  to  bring  in  a  Bill 
"  to  Restrain  all  Dancing  Masters  Schoolmasters  or  Teachers  of  Youth 
in  any  Art  or  Science  from  Teaching  without  License  &  taking  the 
oaths" 

Ordered,  that  Leave  be  given  accordingly 

Pursuant  whereto  a  Bill  was  presented  to  the  Council  Entituled, 
"An  Act  to  restrain  "  [etc.,  as  above] 

Then  the  said  Bill  was  read  the  1st  time  & 

Ordered  a  second  reading 

*  #  *  # 

Tuesday,  February  the  18th,  1745,  P.  M. 

*  *  *  * 

Then  the  said  Bill  [entitled  as  above]  was  read  the  2d  time  & 
Ordered  to  be  committed  :  [but  seems  never  to  have  been  reported 
upon.] 

■*  #  #  * 

The  establishment  of  "  the  first  grammar  school  in  the  State  west 
of  Albany,"  is  supposed  (in  the  absence  of  original  records)  to  have 
occurred  at  Cherry  Yalley,  as  early  as  1743  or  1744.  The  event  is 
thus  chronicled  by  a  local  historian,  the  Hon.  Win.  W.  Campbell : 

Mr.  [Rev.  Samuel]  Dunlop,  having  received  a  classical  education, 
opened  a  school  for  the  instruction  of  boys,  who  came  from  the  set- 
tlements upon  the  Mohawk,  and  from  Schenectady  and  Albany.  It 
is  worthy  of  remark,  that  this  was  the  first  grammar  school  in  the 
State  west  of  Albany.  The  boys  were  received  into  his  house,  and 
constituted  a  part  of  his  family.  The  extreme  simplicity  of  the 
times  may  be  learned  from  the  fact  that  they  often  went  into  the 
fields,  and  there  recited  their  lessons  as  they  followed  their  instructor 
about  while  engaged  in  his  usual  avocations  upon  his  farm  ;  several 
individuals  along  the  Mohawk,  who  were  afterwards  conspicuous  in 
the  Revolution,  thus  received  the  first  rudiments  of  their  education.1 

Judge  Campbell  informs  us  that  "  the  Freys  and  Yateses,  of  the 
Mohawk  Yalley,  were  educated  by  Mr.  Dunlop,  before  the  revolu- 
tionary war ;  "  and  that  "  all  the  local  records  perished  when  Cherry 
Valley  was  destroyed." 

For  some  further  account  of  the  life  of  Rev.  Sam'l  Dunlop,  see 

1  Campbell's  Annals  of  Tryon  County,  pp.  23,  24.  See,  also,  Proceedings  of  the 
Albany  Institute,  i,  189. 


144  Annals  of  Public  Education 

Campbell's  Annals,  pp.  21,  22,  97,  99,  112,  113 ;  also  a  letter  from 
Mr.  D.  to  Sir  Wm.  Johnson,  dated  Cherry  Valley,  Dec.  25,  1763, 
soliciting  protection  for  that  town  from  the  Indians.1 

The  "  School  of  the  Reformed  Protestant  Dutch  Church,  in  the 
City  of  New  York,"  of  which  we  had  considerable  to  say  in  connec- 
tion with  the  "Annals  of  Education  in  New  Netherlands"  is  scarcely 
mentioned  in  the  extant  records  of  the  period  embraced  in  the  present 
chapter,  though  it  will  hereafter  claim  a  larger  share  of  notice.  For 
the  present,  we  barely  quote  a  few  paragraphs  from  Dunshee's  His- 
tory of  this  School : 

RECAPITULATION  [of  Ch.  III.] 

The  disseveration  of  the  Dutch  Church  from  the  Colonial  Govern- 
ment, the  absence  of  Consistorial  records,  and  there  being  no  news- 
papers as  yet  established,  the  information  respecting  the  School  for 
several  years  after  the  Capitulation  [1664]  is  necessarily  very  limited; 
but,  identified  with  the  Dutch  Church  as  an  institution  of  long 
cherished  inheritance,  she  could  not  dispense  with  it,  without  the 
violation  of  principles  and  feelings  totally  incompatible  with  her  con- 
stitution and  aims. 

*  *  *  * 

1665. — Evert  Pietersen,  who  was  appointed  in  1661,  continued  to 
teach  at  least  one  year  after  the  Capitulation. 

1705. —  Upon  the  existence  of  a  vacancy,  Lord  Cornbury  claimed 
the  right  of  appointing  the  schoolmaster,  notwithstanding  the  clause 
in  the  incorporation-act  of  William  III  (1696,)  reserving  this  right 
to  the  ministers  and  Consistory.  This  claim  led  to  a  meeting  of  the 
Great  Consistory,  who  determined  to  preserve  their  chartered  privi- 
leges inviolate. 

1726. —  Barent  De  Foreest,  schoolmaster. 

1743. —  Huybert  Yan  Wagenen,  previously  appointed,  kept  the 
School,  corner  of  Marketfield  and  Broad  streets  (1746).  He  was 
chorister  for  the  Old  and  New  Churches,  alternately.  Resigned,  1749. 
.  Neither  the  date  of  Barent  De  Foreest's  resignation,  nor 
of  Mr.  Yan  Wagenen's  appointment  as  schoolmaster,  can  be  now 
definitely  ascertained.  *  *  * 

The  population  having  extended  "far  up  town,"  the  deacons 
opened  a  school  in  Cortlandt  street,  of  which  Abraham  Delanoy  was 
appointed  teacher.  He  commenced  with  ten  Scholars,  receiving  from 
Consistory,  in  quarterly  payments,  the  amount  of  money  and  fire- 
wood which  Mr.  Yan  Wagenen  received  for  the  same  number.  The 
catechetical  instruction  in  the  Garden  Street  Church  was  attended  to 
by  Mr.  Yan  Wagenen,  and  in  the  Middle  Church  by  Mr.  Delanoy.5 


i 


The  attention  of  Consistory  having  been  engrossed  for  some  time 
with  other  subjects  of  paramount  importance,  we  find  no  direct  refer- 

1  Sir  Wm.  Johnson  MSS.  (N.  Y.  State  Library),  viii,  63. 
2 Dunshee's  History  of  the  School,  etc.,  pp.  58,  73,  74. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  145 

ence  to  the  School  in  their  records  until  the  year  1743  ;  when  com- 
mences a  series  of  minutes,  from  which  we  are  able  to  furnish  a  full 
and  uninterrupted  chain  of  interesting  facts,  respecting  the  size  and 
progress  of  the  school,  with  a  complete  list  of  the  Schoolmasters  up 
to  the  present  day.1 

It  appears  from  Hon.  Henry  P.  Hedges'  "  Two  Hundredth  Anni- 
versary Address  at  East  Hampton,  L.  I.,"  that  that  town  was  settled 
about  1650,  and  that  among  the  early  associates  of  the  first  settlers 
was  one  Charles  Barnes,  who  was  the  first  schoolmaster,  the  date  of 
whose  period  of  service  is  not  stated,  (pp.  4,  5.)  It  is  further  stated 
that  the  "Town  Meeting"  or  "General  Court"  provided  school 
teachers,  and  made  regulations  for  the  education  of  the  youth,  and 
that  the  salary  of  the  schoolmaster  was  £33  per  annum.     Idem,  p.  10. 

Mr.  Hedges  and  his  relative,  Dr.  John  C.  Hedges,  have  made 
recent  search,  at  our  request,  among  the  town  records  of  East  Hamp- 
ton, but  they  fail  to  find  anything  further  on  this  subject,  or  even 
the  originals  referred  to  in  the  aforesaid  anniversary  address. 

A  recently  published  volume  of  "Chronicles  of  Easthampton,"  by 
David  Gardiner,  gives  somewhat  fuller  information  in  regard  to  Charles 
Barnes,  and  the  general  condition  of  education  in  that  town,  though 
the  original  authorities  are  not  cited.     "We  quote  extracts  as  follows : 

One  of  the  greatest  cares  of  the  settlers  after  providing  for  their 
families  a  comfortable  establishment,  was  the  erection  of  a  school 
house,  and  the  engagement  of  teachers.  At  first  the  teacher  received 
£30  sterling  a  year,  and  to  induce  a  general  attendance  at  school  of 
the  children  of  the  settlement,  a  small  part  only  of  the  whole  charge 
was  fixed  upon  the  scholars,  and  the  residue  collected  by  a  general 
tax  upon  the  inhabitants.  Charles  Barnes,  one  of  the  first  settlers, 
was  for  a  number  of  years  the  instructor.  He  was  the  son  of  William 
Barnes,  a  gentleman  of  Eastwinch,  in  the  County  of  Norfolk,  Eng- 
land, who  died  in  1663,  leaving  him  a  portion  of  his  estate.  Barnes 
was  succeeded  by  James  Holdworth  in  '73,  and  he  by  Peter  Benson, 
of  the  West  Riding  of  Yorkshire,  on  Long  Island,  who  was  employed 
at  the  increased  salary  of  £50  sterling  a  year.  In  1682,  the  school 
consisted  of  twenty-nine  scholars. 

The  great  importance  of  education  and  the  necessity  of  competent 
teachers,  was  a  subject  which  had  very  seriously  occupied  the  minds 
of  the  magistrates*;  and  their  efforts,  seconded  by  those  of  the  inhabi- 
tants, had  been  sedulously  and  successfully  devoted  to  the  mainte- 
nance of  a  sufficient  school.  These  efforts,  which  for  a  series  of  years 
were  sustained  at  the  charge  of  the  town,  gave  such  impulse  to  the 
desire  of  instruction,  that  the  school  house  was  seldom  vacant.  The 
standard  of  education  was  not  at  this  period  very  high,  but  it  was  at 
least  equal  to  that  which  prevailed  over  a  great  part  of  the  country, 

1  Dimshee's  History  of  the  School,  etc.,  p.  58. 
10 


146  Annals  of  Public  Education 

and  fully  sufficient  for  the  transaction  of  business  in  the  ordinary- 
concerns  of  life.  Limited  as  their  sources  of  knowledge  were,  it  was 
through  them  that  this  small  community  became,  as  the  public  records 
abundantly  attest  them  to  have  been,  so  well  acquainted  with  their 
political  rights  and  so  watchful  in  sustaining  them.  So  deeply 
impressed  were  they  with  the  importance  of  education  to  the  pros- 
perity of  the  colony,  so  sensibly  did  they  feel  that  the  efforts  of  their 
little  community  were  altogether  inadequate  to  provide  even  within 
its  own  small  circle  the  proper  means  of  intellectual  improvement, 
that  the  people  of  this  town,  as  early  as  1678,  called  the  attention  of 
the  established  government  to  the  importance  of  providing  capable 
teachers.  A  resolution  in  the  following  words  was  proposed  and 
adopted  in  that  year,  at  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants.  "  It 
was  agreed  by  a  majority  vote  to  refer  the  necessary  employment  of 
teachers,  to  the  right  honorable,  the  governor,  and  Court  of  Assizes." 
No  public  provisions,  however,  appear  to  have  been  made.1 

*  *  As  early  as  1711,  and  in  the  following  years,  when  a  classi- 
cal education  was  not  easily  obtained,  and  the  number  of  graduates 
at  the  few  colleges  then  established  was  very  limited,  Harvard  and 
Yale  numbered  several  from  this  town  [Easthampton]  in  the  list  of 
their  students  and  graduates.  .  .  .  The  schools  of  the  town  con- 
tinued to  be  a  subject  of  special  interest,  and  in  1784,  an  academy  for 
classical  instruction  was  erected,  being  the  first  instituted  under  the 
State.2  *  *  *  * 

We  are  under  further  obligation  to  Dr.  O'Callaghan  for  the  follow- 
ing items,  from  the  proof  sheets  of  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  Com- 
mon Council  of  the  City  of  New  York  "  (the  MS.  Copy  of  which  has 
already  been  cited  as  the  "New  Amsterdam  Records"),  in  course  of 
publication  under  his  supervision : 

[City  of  New  York ;  In  Common  Council] 

[Month  and  day  not  recorded],  1676. 
*  *  *  * 

To  the  Worshippfull  ye  Deputy  Mayr  &  Aldermen  of  the  Citty  of 
New  Yorke 

The  Humble  Peticon  of  Ebenezer  Kirtland  Sheweth  That  yor  Peti- 
tioner is  informed  y*  yor  worshipps  are  desirous  to  Erect  and  maintaine 
a  School  for  ye  Educatinge  and  instructinge  of  Youth  either  in  Read- 
inge  "Writinge  Arithmetick  Lattin  or  Greeke  Yor  Petitioner  sup- 
posing himselfe  to  bee  a  Person  fitt  to  vndrtake  and  Discharge  such 
an  Employ  to  y*  End  addressed  himselfe  to  his  Honor  the  Gouerno1"  for 
his  good  Likeinge  therein  who  hath  signified  ye  same  to  your  Peti- 
coner  &  ordred  him  to  make  his  addresses  to  yor  worrpps  to  be  ye 
Mastr  of  the  said  Schooll 

1  Gardiner's  Chronicles  of  Easthampton,  pp.  41,  42. 

2  Idem,  pp.  42,  43. 


in  the  State  of  New  York.  147 

Your  Peticionr  therefore  humbly  Prays  yor  Worrpps  (if  w*  Terms 
your  Petition1"  hath  Pposed  may  be  allowed  of)  that  he  may  be 
forth  wth  Confirmed  in  ye  sd  Employ  as  Schooll  Mastr  &c,  he  beinge 
willinge  to  Engage  himselfe  for  ye  space  of  two  Years 
And  yr  Petition1*  shall  Euer  Pray  &c. 

To  The  Worshipfull  the  Mayor  and  Alldermen  of  this  Citty  of  New 

Yorke 
The  humble  Peticon  of  Mathew  Hiller. 

Humbly  Showeth :  That  whereas  yor  Petionr  haueing  (by  his 
honor  the  Gpuernor)  consent  and  with  the  approbation  of  this  wor- 
shipfu11  Court  beene  Seruiceable  to  this  Citty  all  moste  two  yeares  & 
hath  Indeaurd  the  Instruction  of  Children  of  what  age  or  sex  so  euer 
to  there  Parents  Satesf action :  Yet  not  with  standing  some  Com- 
plaintes  haue  beene  made  (unmerited)  to  your  Worships  which  yowr 
Petetionr  undrstanding  made  application  to  his  honr  Informing  him 
the  occation  of  sume  neglects  which  was  the  greate  wants  of  a  Con- 
venient howse  wherein  yowr  Petionr  might  settle  and  not  bee  trubled 
with  soe  often  Remo  vails  which  I  question  not  butt  will  bee  taken  in 
to  Consideration  but  yor  Petionr  undrstanding  of  an  obstruction  by  a 
Person  Lately  arriued  here  who  Indeaur8  the  Circumventing  of 
yowr  Petioner  and  Reape  the  f ruite  of  his  Labours  of  which  Likewise 
your  Petionr  hath  fully  Informed  his  honr  who  is  by  yr  Petion1"8  hum- 
ble Request  Pleased  to  Leaue  the  Ordering  of  a  Scoole  and  master  to 
yowr  Worships  Pleasure  giueing  yor  Petionr  hopes  and  Encourage- 
ment that  by  yr  Worships  wisdome  things  may  bee  better  Regulated 

Yowr  Petetionrs  humble  Request  is  hee  may  bee  establisht  in  his 
Imploy  in  which  with  the  helpe  of  god  hee  doubts  not  satisfaction  to 
yor  Worships 

And  hee  shall  for  Euer  Pray  &c. 

Citty  of  New  Yorke    Att  a  Meettinge  the  25th  Day  of  August 

1676 

•*  *  *  * 

Vpon  the  Peticons  of  Ebenezer  Kirtland  and  Matthew  Hilliard  to 
be  Schoollmasters  of  this  Citty  &c  Itt  is  thought  fitt  and '  is  hereby 
ordered  y*  Matthew  Hillyer  "Continue  in  ye  same  hee  behaueinge 
himselfe  for  ye  future  better  then  ye  time  Past  And  instead  of  12lb 
per  Annum  accordinge  to  former  Order  is  only  to  have  A  Roome 
Provided  for  him 

23d  November,  1697. 
The  Petition  of  Mr  David  Yilant  being  read  desireing  he  may 
keep  school  in  the  publick  Citty  Hall  as  has  been  formerly  Granted 
to  him  by  the  preceeding  Mayor  &  Aldermen  &c :  is  Ref  er'd  to  the 
Mayor  to  doe  therein  as  he  shall  see  Cause. 

12th  June,  1714. 
Order' d  that  this  Corporation  do  Petition  the  General  Assembly 
for  Leave  to  bring  in.  a   Bill   to  Enable  this  Corporation  to  Raise 
Money  for  Repairing  the  publick  Gaols,  Keeping  a  sufficient  Bell- 


148       Public  Education  in  the  State  of  New  York. 

mans  "Watch  in  the  Room  and  Stead  of  A  Constables  Watch  pro- 
viding fire  and  Candle  for  them  Maintaining  a  publick  schoolmaster 
for  teaching  the  poor  to  read  &  write  Defraying  the  Expence  of 
Executing  of  felons,  Maintainance  of  A  Publick:  Whipper  and  Other 
publick  &  Nessessary  Charge  not  Exceeding  one  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds  in  one  year  and  that  the  Mayor  sign  the  Petition  by  Order 
of  this  Court  and  deliver  it  Accordingly. 

9th  April,  1720. 
Order'd  the  Mayor  Issue  his  Warr*  to  the  Treasurer  to  pay  to  Mr. 
William  Huddleston  the  sum  of  Ten  pounds  Curr1  Money  of  this 
Province  as  a  present  of  this  Corporation  for  his  Teaching  severall 
poor  Children  to  Read  within  this  City.  And  Order'd  that  this  be 
not  brought  into  President. 

14th  October  1731. 
Order'd  the  Mayor  Issue  his  warrant  to  the  Treasurer  to  pay  to 
Mrs  Sarah  Huddleston  widow  or  Order  the  sum  of  Eight  pounds 
Current  Money  of  New  York  as  a  Gratification  for  the  trouble  and 
Care  she  and  her  late  Son  Thomas  Huddleston  deceased  have  taken 
in  teaching  several  poor  children  of  this  Corporation  to  Read  and 
Write  and  Instructing  them  in  the  Principles  of  Religion,  over  and 
above  the  number  allowed  by  the  Yenerable  society  for  the  propaga- 
tion of  the  Gospel  in  foreign  parts. 

Having  collated  these  "  Annals  "  thus  far,  with  as  much  thorough- 
ness as  our  opportunities  for  research  would  allow,  we  now  make  a 
second  pause,  at  the  close  of  the  year  1745  ;  hoping  hereafter  to 
resume  the  narrative,  beginning  with  the  legislation  of  1746,  under 
which  a  moderate  sum  was  raised  "  for  the  advancement  of  learning, 
and  the  founding  of  a  College  "  : — this  being  the  first  material  aid 
provided  for  the  institution  which  was  chartered  by  the  Crown,  in 
1754,  as  King's,  and  by  the  State,  in  1784,  as  Columbia  College. 


CATALOGUE 

OF  SCHOOLMASTERS  MENTIONED  IN  THIS  VOLUME. 


I'AGK. 

Alkis,  Frederick,  from  Hoorn 10 

Appel,  Arien,  [or  Adrian  Janse]  Albany 62 

Auchrnuty,  Rev.  Samuel,  New  York  city 113 

Avery,  John,  Rye. 114 

Baene,  Joost  de,  New  Utrecht. 64,  73,    74 

Baird,  Alexander,  Hempstead 92 

Barnes,  Charles,  East  Hampton 145 

Barrington, ,  Staten  Island y 113 

Bartowe,  Basil,  Westchester 114 

Beasly  [Peasley], -,  Albany 105,  111 

Beavois  [Beauvois],  Carel  de,  Brooklyn ...  31,  49,  50,    64 

Becker,  Jan  Juriaense,  Albany,  New  Amsterdam 20,  54,  58,    62 

Beecker,  see  Becker 58 

Bennet,  Cornelius,  Canajohai'ie 112 

Bettersby,  James,  Flushing 121 

Bleecker,  see  Becker 58 

Bogardus,  Cornells,  Albany 75 

Bon  Repos,  Elias,  New  Rochelle 92 

Bowne,  John,  Flushing 68 

Brown,  Adam,  Staten  Island  (south  precinct) 98, 104,  113 

Brownell,  George,  New  York  city 123 

Bruynne,  Francays  de,  Flatbush 63,     64 

Bull,  Amos,  New  York  city 113 

Capito,  Mattys,  Wiltwyck  (Kingston) 51 

Carelse,  Joost,  New  Amsterdam 52 

Carhart,  John,  Rye 114 

Charlton,  Richard,  Hempstead 58,  122 

Charlton,  Rev. ,  New  York  city 113 

Clarke,  Andrew,  New  York  city 87,88,89,    90 

Clarke,  Daniel,  Westchester 114 

Classen,  Frans,  New  Amsterdam 54 

Cleator,  Joseph,  Rye 97, 100, 103, 114,  116 

Clogan,  Rev.  Thomas,  New  York  city 101,  113 

Cornelissen,  Jan,  New  Amsterdam 9,  43,    44 

Cornelius  (Indian  Sachem),  Fort  Hunter  (Lower  Mohock  Town) 106,  112 

Covelens,  Jacob  Jooste  (see  Joosten),  Albany. 62 

Curler  [Corler,  Corlaar,  Corlear],  Jacobus  van,  New  Amsterdam 19,  20,    53 

Curtius,  Alexander  Carolus,  New  Amsterdam.. 22,  23,  24,  25,  26,  27,  32,  34,  35,  42,    45 
Daniel  (Indian),  Canajoharie  ( Upper  Mohock  Town) 106,  111 


150  Catalogue  of  Schoolmasters. 

Page. 

Davies,  ,  Southampton Ill 

Davis,  Goody,  Jamaica 69 

Delanoy,  Abraham,  New  York  city 144 

Denton, ,  Oystei'  Bay 100,  111 

De  Puy,  John,  Staten  Island 104,  113 

Dillon,  Patrick,  Flatbush 63 

Drewit,  Benjamin,  Staten  Island 104,  113 

Dunlop,  Kev.  Samuel,  Cherry  Valley 143 

Dupuy, ,  Staten  Island 98 

Dwight,  Flint,  North  Castle,  Bye  and  White  Plains 114,  116 

Egberts, ,  Staten  Island 113 

Ekelen  [Eckkelen],  Johannes  Van,  Flatbush 63,  64,  65,  67,  72,    73 

Ellison,  Gabriel,  Flatbush 63 

Fayole,  Prudent  de  la,  New  York  city 92 

ffitz  Gerald,  Edward,  Westchester  county 93 

ffoucautt,  Andrew,  New  York  city 90 

Foreest,  Barent  de,  New  York  city 144 

Forster,  William,  Westchester 100,  114 

Gage,  Father  Charles,  S.  J.,  (Latin  teacher  ?),  New  York  city 71 

Gancell,  Jan,  Flatbush 63 

Gasheris,  Stephen,  Kingston 91 

Gatehouse,  Edward,  New  York  city 123 

Gelder,  Johannes  van,  New  Amsterdam 21,    55 

Gerritse  [  Wyngaard],  Luykas,  Albany 62,    63 

Gerritsz,  see  Marken 68 

Gildersleeve,  Richard,  Hempstead 122 

Gildersleeve,  Thomas,  Hempstead 99,  111,  123 

Glover  Charles,  Westchester 100,  114 

Gott,  ,  Westchester 114 

Hainelle,  Michael,  Flatbush 63,    64 

Hall, ,  Canajoharie 112 

Harrison,  Father  Henry,  S.  J.,  (Latin  teacher  ?),  New  York  city 71 

Hegeman,  Adrian,  Flatbush,  Midwout 28,  49,  63,    64 

Hetherington,  Walter,  New  York  city 141,  142 

Hildreth,  Thomas,  New  York  city 112,  116 

Hiller,  Matthew,  New  York  city 147 

Hoboocken,  Harman  van,  New  Amsterdam 12, 13, 14, 17,  39,    44 

Houlding  [Houldsworth  (?)  ],  Hempstead 58 

Houldsworth,  Jonas,  Hempstead,  Southampton,  Huntington  (?) 36,  39,  50,  122 

Hudde,  Andries,  New  Amsterdam 19,    53 

'Huddlestone, ,  New  York  city  and  Bye 116 

Huddlestone  [Huddleston],  Thomas,  New  York  city,  Jamaica  ...  92,  99, 101, 105,  112 

114,  148 

Huddlestone,  William,  New  York  city 104,  112,  148 

Ilpendam,  Adriaen  Jansen  van,  New  Amsterdam 16,  51,    52 

Jamison,  David,  New  York  city 121,  122 

Jansen,  Aryaen  (Arien),  see  Ilpendam,  New  Amsterdam 9,    51 

Jansz  (Jansen),  Andries,  Beverwyck 12,    50 

Jarratt,  Allane,  New  Yoi'k  city  and  province 93,  142 

Jeflray,  James,  New  Yoi'k  city 92 


Catalogue  of  Schoolmasters.  15 L 

Page. 

Johnson,  Peter,  "  schol."  (?),  Hempstead 58 

Johnston,  Charles,  New  York  city 124 

Jones, ,  Miles  Square 113 

Joosten  [Covelens],  Jacob,  Albany,  Flatbush,  Wiltwyck  (Kingston) 51,  58,    63 

Keeble, ,  Oyster  Bay , Ill 

Kirtlancl,  Ebenezer,  New  York  city 146,  147 

Kneeland, ,  Flushing  and  Huntington Ill 

Leaky  [Lealey],  William,  South  of  Hempstead Ill 

Leffert,  William,  South  of  Hempstead Ill 

Lindley,  Henry,  Jamaica 91 

Loquart,  James,  Jamaica 118 

Lubbertsen  [Lubberts],  Jan,  New  Amsterdam 20,    54 

Luyck,  ^gidius,  New  Amsterdam 32,  33,  34,  35,  45,  46,  47,    48 

Lyde,  James,  New  York  city 123 

Lynstead,  Thomas,  Oyster  Bay 118 

M'Leland,  Colin,  Ganajoharie 112 

Maenhout,  Boudewyn,  Bushwyck 36,    50 

Makins,  Thomas,  Flushing 94 

Malcolm,  Alexander,  New  York  city. . .  124, 125,  127, 128,  129, 130,  131,  132, 133,  134 

135, 136, 138, 139,  140,  141 

Marcken  [Marckjej,  Jan  Gerritsen  van,  Flatbush 63,  64,    68 

Miller,  Benjamin,  Staten  Island,  West  Precinct 113 

Mills,  Richard,  Middleburgh 30,  48,    49 

Molenaar,  Arent  Evertsen,  New  Amstel  (Del.) 50 

Montagne,  Johannes  de  la,  New  Amsterdam,  Hmrlem  (New) 11,  12, 13,  37,  38,    44 

Montagne,  William,  Kingston 91 

Moore,  John,  Jmnaica 107,  111 

Moubray,  John,  Southampton 75 

Muirson,  George,  New  York  city 87,    90 

Naau  [Nau],  Elias,  New  York  city 91, 100,  101, 113,  119 

Noon,  Patrick,  Flatbush 63 

Noxon,  Thomas,  New  York  city 106,  112 

Occom,  Samson,  Montauk 120 

Oliver, ,  Mohock  country 101,  102,  111 

Paulus  (Indian),  Ganajoharie 112 

Paulus,  Petrus  (Indian),  Ganajoharie 112 

Peasley, ,  see  Beasly 105 

Pietersen,  Evert,  New  Amsterdam,  South  (Delaware)  river,  16,  17, 18,  19,  39, 40, 45,  144 

Potts, ,  Staten  Island 98 

Price, ,  Staten  Island 113 

Provoost,  David,  New  Amsterdam 52 

Purdy,  Samuel,  Rye 114,  116 

Rand,  John,  Rye 114 

Reinier, ,  Flatbush 29,  50,    64 

Remse,  Rem,  Flatbush 64 

Remsen,  Jores,  Flatbush 63 

Ridder,  Evert,  Albany 90 

Rock,  William,  Jamaica 118 

Roelansten,  Adam,  New  Amsterdam 4,  41,  42,  43,    51 

Rubell,  John,  Flatbush ■ 03 


152         Catalogue  of  Schoolmasters. 

Page. 

Schaets,  Rev.  Gideon,  Ttenselaerswyck 12 

Schenk  [Schenck],  Johannes,  Flatbush 63,  64,  72,    73 

Schoolmasters  referred  to,  hut  not  by  name. .  1,  2,  3,  5,  6,  8,  9,  10, 11, 15,  22,  27,    39 

60,  61,  62,  64,  69,  70,  71,  73,  75,  77,  80,  81,  82,  85,  86,  94,  96,  97,  99,  100, 104,  105 

107, 108, 109, 110,  111,  114, 115, 117,  119, 122, 123, 125,  143,  148 

Schoonmaker,  Michael,  Flatbush ; 63 

Seabury,  Nathaniel,  Westchester ". 114 

Seabury,  Samuel,  Jr. ,  Huntington Ill 

Selover,  Isaac,  FlaUands 69, 117,  118 

Sheriosby,  Georgius,  Cow  Neck 118 

Shutte,  John,  Albany 57 

Sluys,  Andries  van  der,  Esopus  {Kingston) 50 

Smith,  Thomas,  New  York  city 61 

Spencer,  Rachel,  Hempstead 69,  116 

Steenburgh,  Petrus  van,  Flatbush 63 

Steenhuysen,  Engelbert,  Bergen  {N.J.) 36,  37,    50 

Stevensen,  Jan,  New  Amsterdam 7,  9,  42,    43 

Steyn,  Hans,  New  Amsterdam 53 

Storm,  Derick,  Flatbush 63,    64 

Sturgeon,  William,  B.  A.,  Rye 114 

Swartt,  Gerrit,  Albany 62 

Taylor, ,  Staten  Island 98,  99, 107,  113 

Temple,  Thomas,  ^Hempstead,  Jamaica Ill,  118 

Thoresby,  see  Sheriosby 118 

Thurston,  William,  New  York  city 123 

Tiebout  [Thibaud],  Jan,  Flatbush 63,  65,  67,    68 

"  Traveling  Woman  out  of  ye  Jerseys,"  Rye 116 

Verstius  [Vestius,  Vestens],  William,  New  Amsterdam 12,  13,    44 

Vilant,  David,  New  York  city. . 147 

Vleck  [Vleg],  Paulus  van,  Kinderliook 89 

Wagenen,  Huybert  van,  New  York  city 144 

Wall,  Edward,  Johnstown 112 

Watts, ,  Staten  Island 113 

Welp,  Anthony,  Flatbush 63 

Wetmore,  James,  Rye 114,  116 

Wetmore,  Rev.  James,  New  York  city 101,  113 

Wetmore,  Timothy,  Rye 114,  116 

Willett, ,  Jamaica 106,  111 

Williamson,  Francis,  Staten  Island 98, 104,  113 

Wood,  John,  New  York  city 92 

Wright,  Andrew,  Staten  Island 107,  113 

Wyngaard,  see  Oerritse 62,    63 

Youngs,  George,  Westcliester 114 

^         OF   THE  r 

UNIVERSITY 


/  v  o 


**& 


rs 


■BO, 


>o^- 


H>, 


2j^ 


50: 


'**•« 


3^ 


i  O     L/O  i    IU 


3KS  ON  PEDAGOGY, 

FOB  salk  r.\ 
BABDEEN,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 
talogue  Nf'  '••■  ? 
.Price,  $.1 


'r 


